#4 Self-Confidence
The fourth Emotional Law is self-confidence, a concept that may seem contradictory. We might wonder, “Shouldn’t our confidence be solely in God?” The truth is, both self-confidence and confidence in God are crucial. They are not mutually exclusive, but rather, they work in harmony to empower us.
Paul said to the church at Philippi, “We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort (Philippians 3:3). But, on two occasions when he was writing to the church at Corinth, Paul said to them, “I have the highest confidence in you, and I take great pride in you” (2 Corinthians 7:4). “I am very happy now because I have complete confidence in you” (2 Corinthians 7:16).
Like many things in life, it is both/and. Confidence is defined as trust, faith, and conviction. Self-confidence is “a feeling of self-assurance arising from appreciation of one’s abilities or qualities.” This reminds me of the emotional law of self-knowledge. When we know ourselves, we know we are good at some things and are confident in those. You may have the gift of teaching. You know you are a good or even an excellent teacher. You can be confident in that skill. You could be better. You make mistakes, but you teach well. On the other hand, you may be a lousy cook and aren’t very confident in that skill.
There is a difference between self-confidence and self-conning. Have you ever met someone who had great confidence but was not rooted in reality? I knew someone who was quite confident they were a leader. The problem was they had no followers. Knowing who we are gives us true self-confidence based on reality. God sometimes performs miracles to transform us into who he needs to answer a call. But even then, He doesn’t make us totally different people; he uses who we are. We need to be realistic, AND we need to leave ample room for growth through the power of God.
Esther had both self-confidence and confidence in God. She boldly approached the king, spoke up at the right moments, and exercised her leadership qualities with her cousin Mordecai to draft a law that would save her people.
Deborah had both self-confidence and confidence in God. She said, “Go into battle! You can and will win.” Deborah is the only judge in scripture who has nothing negative said about her. She was confident in her abilities and in God.
Self-confidence includes being confident about who we are. We are the children of God. We don’t have to exhaust ourselves in uncertainty, indecision, hesitation, and doubt.
Paul says, there has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears (Philippians 1:6). No need for doubt, only confidence in God’s finished work.
We can approach the throne of grace with confidence! Hebrews 4:16