Allan Gerh
"Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are
competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes
from God." 2 Corinthians 3:4-5 (NIV)
"Are you sure you're ready to have a tiger by the tail?" mom asked with a big
grin. That was her first response when my then-boyfriend Barry asked my parents
if he could marry me. It still makes me laugh, because I was certainly a strange
mix of rule-following, first-child with a wide streak of sassiness and fierce
independence. I'm still not sure Barry had any idea what he was getting into
when he said, "I do."
That was over twenty years ago, so when Barry asked an unexpected question
during our family vacation this year, it opened my eyes to some of God's
difficult work in my life. Barry and I sat on the deck overlooking the ocean
talking in low voices about the topics that concern many of us--finances,
parenting, plans for the future... Suddenly, Barry asked his startling question.
"If you could change one thing about me, what would it be?"
My mind went blank except for the thought, "Whew! This is a really loaded
question." At first I didn't want to answer (why ruin a great evening?), but I
finally answered, braced myself and re-asked the question, "What would you
change about me?"
I had a pretty good list going in my mind of what I thought he'd say--I wish you
weren't so critical. I wish you wouldn't talk so much. I wish you would cook
dinner more often.
What he actually said surprised me. "I want you to get your confidence back.
When I married you, your favorite phrase was, 'I'll do it myself!' I've watched
you lose your confidence over the years, and I want you to have it back." He
replied.
A move, a couple of friendships with bad endings and struggling to find a place
in my new home town had knocked the stuffing right out of me. I had fought and
lost against my own tendency toward comparison, perfectionism and an
overdeveloped sense of responsibility. Little by little, I became convinced that
I couldn't and that I wasn't. My confidence was shaken and then it crumbled.
But sometimes things have to be torn down before they can be rebuilt.
Was it God's plan that I would move, fail in some friendships and beat myself
bloody trying to be somebody else? No! He did, however, use this bad place to
bring me to a better place. God began rebuilding in me about a year ago, but He
capped it off when I got home from our She Speaks conference this year. There He
spoke to me over and over again about trusting my life to His control. The
scripture in my Sunday school class the following Sunday was our key verse
today, 2 Corinthians 3:4-6: "Such confidence as this is ours through Christ
before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for
ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as
ministers of a new covenant--not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter
kills, but the Spirit gives life." (NIV)
I started with, "I can do it," but God brought me to "He can do it in me." He
has brought me out of my own power, which is so limited and flawed, to being
dependent on the infilling power of His Spirit. Confidence in myself has very
limited power whereas confidence in Him brings limitless possibilities.
I know that I'll still have days of struggle with confidence, but my rebuilt and
renewed sense of confidence is now firmly in Christ. It's a beautiful place to
be.
Dear Lord, I have depended on myself so many times and fallen short. My
confidence has been shaken. Rebuild me by helping me to put my full confidence
in You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Application Steps:
Journal a prayer thanking God for His limitless power and capabilities. Ask God
to fill you with His power while giving up your own.
Reflections:
Am I truly dependent on God, or do I rely primarily on myself?
Where is my focus when I am struggling with confidence?
Power Verses:
Ecclesiastes 3:1, 3, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every
activity under heaven...a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down
and a time to build...." (NIV)
Philippians 3:3, "For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the
Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the
flesh..." (NIV)
--
Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your heart. Who looks
outside,dreams;who looks inside,awakens.
Carl Jung
Little faith hopes that God will do what He says; strong faith knows that He
will; and great faith believes that He has already done it."
Dr. Charles Stanley