The Face of Confidence

James 4:6 But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (NRSV)

We live in a world that values success and, up to a point, there’s nothing wrong with that … until we cross over that line where self-promotion and over-confidence become our road to the holy grail of success.

There’s a fine line between confidence and over-confidence. We all know the over-confident sort. They blah on about what they’ve achieved and how clever they are, on and on. And sadly, more often than not, that behaviour masks some deeper insecurities.

But there’s a different sort of confidence that you and I need to develop. It’s that quiet confidence in who we are, who God has made us to be, that quiet confidence in God Himself, that when things are completely beyond us, they’re not beyond Him.

So let me ask you; in whom or in what do you place your confidence – in yourself, or in the abilities and resources that God has given you? The difference may seem subtle, but it’s vitally important.

For each one of us, there are a whole bunch of things that we’re not all that good at. But the handful of things that we are good at are a gift from God, meant to be used for His glory.

James 4:6 But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (NRSV)

Pride is a delusion through which we tell ourselves that we are oh so clever, oh so attractive, oh so rich, oh so much better than everybody else around us. It’s an ugly thing. Humility, on the other hand, is a deep knowledge that we aren’t perfect and that every good thing that we do or have comes from God; subtle, but important.

God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.

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