We know God gives us a spirit of power, love and self-discipline, but why is the lion in us too often asleep when we want it to wake up?
Many of us are afraid of stepping out in fear of rejection, so we miss opportunities to be a light in someone’s life. How can we find our confidence through our faith and our confidence in God? The answer is threefold: by understanding that the Holy Spirit is not timid, but bold; by accepting our own uniqueness created by God; and by acknowledging the idea that confidence is built in Christ alone.
1. Confidence In The Spirit
The Holy Spirit is God within us, breathing, sustaining, and equipping us for every good work. Jesus Christ left on a blazing cloud, imparting the Spirit of who He is, not the feelings we suffer under, whether anxiety, extreme shyness or even a social disorder. While God understands our own character and personalities, He also knows who He is and what He’s imparted within you. It’s a daily battle to surrender the flesh and to walk in the Spirit, but doing so, will build our confidence away from the flesh and into the spirit.
“For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.” —Galatians 5:17
2. Confidence In Our Uniqueness
We are each set apart by God and for His purpose; so, naturally, not only do we look different, but we vary in personality; God will use our distinct personality to reach someone who shares the same qualities that we do. God uses you just as you are; in order to be a vessel for Christ does not mean you need to force an alter ego to come out. Still, by accepting our own unique personalities, is not to say we can’t grow in character. Yet, it all filters down to someone daily dressing themselves in the character of Christ and praying that they become more like Him for others.
In the moment, one may feel like cowering, but the lion inside them won’t let them, and they’ll surrender that holy moment to God, ultimately finding their confidence through resting in Him. By having total faith and confidence in God, we can trust He knew what He was doing when he made us. And we can have confidence in the beauty of His creation.
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.” —Jeremiah 17:7
3. Confidence In God And Christ
We need to trust in who we are in Christ alone, and rest in the beauty He sees in us. The odds are completely in favor of resting in who we are, who God has designed us to be and how God formed our personality. A soft-spoken person can still be a lion in the moments she’s called to be. A loud-spoken person can be lamb in the moments he’s called to be. God will use us in spite of how we see or perceive ourselves. In the end, we’ll all realize how our confidence has built over time by simply surrendering ourselves to the Lord, rejoicing in what the day will bring, and delighting in being the salt of the earth, and light of the world.
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” —Hebrews 4:16
Seeing What God Sees In You
God desires to use you. Because God does not see us the way we view ourselves, especially on our worst days, it’s important to remember that He always has a purpose for us. Even though you may be feeling useless, maybe it was pressed upon your heart to call your sister, to heal a wound, to encourage a friend or to make dinner for your father who just had surgery. Whatever mood you are in, God always desires to bring light to those who need it. We can’t forget the moments God did use us in spite of how we felt about ourselves; Christianity is about moving away from the self and into self-less loving.
When all is said and done, God writes clearly that confidence is secured in Christ, and that we can have it to the fullest. “The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17). Having confidence in the fullest means having it fulfill the moments you feel lacking in. And it comes from confidence in God: it will stir the lion in you, but it will also stroke the lamb inside; the Holy Spirit both roars like a mighty lion but also remains still and quiet when the times calls for it, like when He’s trying to speak to you and guide you into the person He’s made you to be.
