Confidence
Placing full trust and belief in the reliability of a person or thing.
Devotional Thought
Read 2 Kings 6:8-19.
Elisha was a confident man who spoke the truth many times to God's enemies. An upset Syrian army was approaching with a plan to capture Elisha. Horses, chariots and a great army assembled by night around Dothan where he and his servant were located. Elisha's servant was petrified when he awoke and saw their opponents within easy striking distance. Certainly this would be the end. Yet when Elisha saw the enemy army, he remained confident. Why? Because he saw God's army assembled in greater numbers than the Syrians. Yes, God would prevail and He did.
Confidence in the Lord is crucial to our Christian walk. It is important that we remain unshaken, even when we go through trying times or when the obstacles appear overwhelming. Those moments when all seems hopeless are when we need to draw close to God and trust that He is able to accomplish His promises. Our confidence comes about because we realize that God is in charge of everything. Accept it or not, God's either in total control or He's off His throne. One of the indicators of spiritual maturity is a confidence that God is in control.
Too often we are dependent on the external things of life, which rise and fall like the stock market, to govern our relationship with God. That is not the way God designed it. As believers we have the unchanging, steady, indwelling presence of Jesus Christ. He can handle and solve anything. The internal control of Christ will head you into a daily, deliberate walk with God. Whatever happens you turn over to Him, asking Him, to sustain, strengthen and guide you. Such confidence and trust in Him stabilize your journey.
Good leaders ooze with confidence. Lord Montgomery wrote, "Leadership is the capacity and will to rally men and women to a common purpose, and the character which inspires confidence." Even if confidence isn't a part of your natural skill set, you can place confidence in God who is able to provide.