Don’t you love to be around someone who is confident? I do. I’m not talking about arrogant people who have more confidence than action. They just annoy. I’m talking about the people who know what they want or know where they are going in life.
These people are the ones that attract others to them. They are the entrepreneurs that seem to make incredible business decisions so that things fall into place for them. Or the moms whose kids seem consistently happy and obedient all at the same time.
But what about the people who have a confident faith? A faith that shows that they expect God to show up and work in amazing ways in their lives. These are the people I try to keep my eye on. I want to walk in that confidence when it comes to my faith.
Hebrews 11:1 says
Now faith is being confident of what we hope for and sure of what we do not see.
Faith’s definition oozes of confidence and assurance. It is expecting something that we can’t completely wrap our mind around or put our finger on. So, I believe it is important that faith should be coupled with confidence if it is to be a growing, viable faith.
I’ve put together a few ideas to help us walk confidently and expectantly in our faith lives. I’m no expert, but simply a fellow traveler who likes to observe others who are bold and confident when it comes to their beliefs in God.
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Rehearse God’s promises and their results in your life
If you are a believer, you have undoubtedly experienced God’s promises in your life come to fruition. But as is true in so many areas of life, our experiences, both good and bad, are frequently lost in our memories unless we work to remember. One such promise from Hebrews 13 is that God will never leave or forsake you. It’s a promise that comes after the command to be content with what we have. I can list countless times in my life where God has come through on that promise to stay by me and provide for me. Those memories serve to bolster my faith in him even more.
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Review what you know about God’s character
If I want to expect God to show up in my life, I have to review who I know God to be. It is true that if we are disappointed in someone, it may have more to do with a misinterpreted view of their intentions or their character than it has to do about the truth of what happened. It’s the same with God. If we place character traits on God that are not true to who he is, the enemy will use that misinformation to cause us to be disappointed in God. But the truth is that we are disappointed in our perception of God’s actions on our behalf. If we know God’s character, we will be able to interpret his actions more accurately.
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Learn something new about God’s character
It doesn’t matter if you have been a believer in God for a year or for eighty years. You can never exhaust your knowledge of who God is. That is both the beauty and the mystery of knowing the Creator of the Universe. If you want to be expectant of God’s work in your life and expectant of a growing faith in him, you must constantly be looking to deepen your relationship with him by knowing him better. I recently finished reading the Bible again this year. Every time I do, I try to see the Bible as a true story that portrays God as the main character. Yes, there are plenty of supporting roles in the story, but God is the one I am trying to learn more about. It’s amazing how many character traits God has and how I can be a long time learner and still learn something new about him. That is expectant faith.
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Let go of the control button
Raise your hand if you like to be in control. Yep. Me too! Guilty as charged. If I’m honest, I not only want to be in control. I want life to work out just like I have imagined and planned. I want the authority to be in the driver’s seat of my life with the assurance of perfect outcomes. And the honest truth is that if I am the ultimate control freak when it comes to my life, my faith will suffer. A confident faith is first of all faith. And faith has an element to it that cannot have control. By definition, the object of our faith is something we cannot see. When we are walking by faith, there is no way we are in ultimate control.
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Don’t watch the clock
I know you have heard this before. It’s not new information, but remember that God is not blocked in by time or a schedule. Honestly, I wish he were. I love a timeline, a deadline, and a detailed calendar. I guess it gives me some semblance of control over what I want to accomplish or a bit of pride over what I have accomplished. But God does not need or want our timelines in order to work in our lives. He is above all things timed. God knows better for us than what we can box into our schedules. He sees eternity as the big picture instead of this week or this month. God will act on our behalf in the best way and time frame for us and in the way that will best give him glory. We have to be OK with that.
So as we move into a new year and a time we seem to look introspectively at our faith walk, let’s hold our head high and walk in confidence and expectation of who we know God to be. Let’s be humble enough to learn even more about him. And let’s be bold enough to turn the control of our lives over to the one who has ultimate control anyway. I believe we will have incredible outcomes in 2018!
What helps you walk confidently in your faith?
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, remembering that as members of the same body you are called to live in harmony, and never forget to be thankful for what God has done for you.
Colossians 3:15