Confidence Man

How many times have you heard that,"Confidence is everything"? That phrase has been echoed to me a litany of times throughout my professional career. One of my battalion commanders used to tell all the lieutenants that during social calls at the Officers' Club at Fort Sill. I took it to heart and often during down parts of my days, I would move swiftly through the motor pool carrying my clipboard as I had a specific purpose. Now as I work in the pharmaceutical industry, I hear the same thing. One manager I had a couple of years ago was a classic confidence man. He would approach a physician and spout off a bunch of data from a clinical study and the journal it was published in. The problem was he never accurately recalled the name of the journal or the date it was published. (He did accurately quote the data though) I always got a laugh because he would make up some magazine name that was utterly ridiculous. But because he said it very confidently, the doctors never thought twice about it and he got results.

Last week, I wrote that confidence was the linchpin in taking God's directive to go into the world as Christians and make disciples. I have thought alot about that and am even more convinced now. There are so many things in this world and our lives to not be confident in, that we become trained to be skeptical and not place complete trust in anything. We cannot trust that our lives will extend past now, or that we will have jobs tomorrow, or that our car will start everytime we turn the ignition. We cannot trust that our friends won't turn their backs, that our insurance will cover medical expenses, or that marriages will last through retirement. We have become conditioned to withhold a part of ourselves in nearly every commitment or endeavor we undertake.

Conversely, the scriptures instruct us to place unconditional trust in God and our relationship with Him. Talk about having to lead a double life!! The dynamics to succeed in that environment are taxing and difficult. How do we do it? I'm not sure, because I haven't conquered it yet. Maybe I never will, but it won't be for lack of recognition. Now that I have realized the dichotomy, there is no excuse.

Ephesians chapter 3 is an excellent scripture that to me gives us the boldness and strength to feel confident in what we as Christians must do. Paul writes in verses 12-19:

"In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. "

Because of our faith we can approach God with freedom and confidence. Like I wrote last week. Most will do that in times of need and concern. We do generally pray for guidance and health and grace for ourselves and others during perilous courses in our lives. We are confident that those prayers will be answered according to His divine will. Paul also prayed for God to strengthen the Ephesians with power in their inner most beings and so that they understood the breadth of God's love. Why? One of the general purposes of Paul's letter was to give advice and encouragement to members of the church on growth and renewal. He details that through chapters 3 and 4. Therefore, can we no assume that one of the primary reasons Christs grants us the strength and confidence is to shine His light to the world so that others may see Him and be drawn to that?

Confident people are like magnets. People are naturally drawn to them. I am. It rubs off on me and I want to see what they feel so good about. We like to see people walk with their heads up and backs straight. So then, others are drawn to those who are confident in their faith. Look around your church or family and friends. Don't you feel good being around those that inhibit that trait? God gives us that same power if we just ask for it. His grace can fill our lives and saturate our souls.

Our charge then is to accept that power and fulfillment. Go against the grain of society and trust wholly our God. He has given Christians eternity, I feel that at least I can give Him my few years on Earth. The Bible is frock with promises and prophesies that have come to fruition. Not once has He backpedalled and recanted. So then, can't we feel confident that He will not forsake us inany of our circumstances and in our daily lives? Can we take that confidence into the world so that others may see it? It's difficult, and I pray daily for strength and to exhibit the confidence that I feel.

May God fill His children with the strength and confidence to live in this world so that others may be drawn to His grace and love.