Confidence Builder

 

"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know  that you have eternal life.  This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us."  I John 5:13-14

 

Do you ever struggle with confidence? Do you ever struggle with confidence in the Spirit?  I have struggled with both- to be quite honest.  I used to work on trying to be a more confident person.  A person who  held my head up high and "fake it till I make it" so that people would not see that I struggled with feeling that assurance that others seem to naturally exude.  But then the Lord began to deal with my heart, that I did not need more self confidence.  I needed more God confidence!

 

Let's be real for a moment.  There are things that I (and you) are just naturally good at doing.  But where did that originate from?  It came from  Him!  Every  gift, ability, propensity or "smart" that you have is a gift from the loving Heavenly Father, who designed you.  His design was always with a Kingdom purpose in mind.  If you have a leadership gift, it is not so you can work for a Fortune 500 Company (though you might).  The gift is to be used in the church and to build the kingdom of God.  Are you a good  money person?  Then find a way to invest that skill in the kingdom!  It is good to use our natural talents for our vocation, but we can never forget that there are also spiritual reasons for the gifts we possess.

 

So, back to the original  confidence question. How confident are you, particularly in Christ?  If you lack confidence in your ability, begin to look at His ability that is available to you.  You have access to unlimited potential, knowledge, power, favor, provision, and help in Christ!  If He leads you to do something beyond your ability, begin to call upon His ability!  He has a way of always  calling us to "God-sized" jobs because he wants us to see the end of ourselves and look to him.

 

Today's verse says that we can have confidence in approaching God, particularly in bringing our petitions to him in prayer.  Because of all that Christ accomplished on our behalf, we can boldly appear before the throne of a holy God!  That will never cease to blow my mind.  Because I am covered in his blood, that was completely sufficient, I have access to the Father.  Rather than being consumed in fiery judgment, I can stand before him justified and unafraid.  But the richness of his redemption does not end there.  I can also boldly ask God for things that I need, or want.  Will I always get it?  That is a discussion for another day.  But  for now, just think about the first part.  You can have confidence in Christ.  And you can ask  him for his will, and he will hear you.  Let your faith begin to rise based on today's  verse!

 

Thank you, Jesus, for purchasing me access to the Father in prayer.  Thank you for giving me confidence of my position in you.  And thank you, Father, for hearing my  prayer.   In Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

Sherri

The Breastplate

“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist with the breastplate of righteousness in place.”  Ephesians 6:14

 

Today’s devotional continues the thought from Friday.  The second part of this verse talks about having the breastplate of righteousness in place.  This means that our hearts are protected by having our hearts in right standing with God.  When we know our sins are forgiven, when there is nothing standing between us and God, we have so much more confidence to come to Him in prayer.

None of us are righteous.  We are only righteous when Christ justifies us and counts us as righteous because we are washed and standing “in Christ.”  But once we have received this great salvation, we must stand in our righteousness in Christ. That means we do not allow the enemy to beat us over the head because of wrong things we have done in the past. Having our breastplate in place means we do not even judge ourselves.  We keep the breastplate of righteousness in place by operating in what the Bible says about us and refusing to fall into sin.

When we compromise our standards and sin against the written Word, we are left susceptible to the arrows of the enemy.  We lay our breastplate aside and are vulnerable in the day of attack.  I encourage you today to check your heart and see if you have misplaced your righteousness by things you have done that you have not repented of, or if you are taking sins out from under the blood of Christ and remembering them against yourself.

Dear Lord, help me to stand in the righteousness you have freely given me.  I know that I am justified by your sacrifice and by nothing I have done on my own.  Forgive me for sinning against you and stepping out of your righteousness.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri