I’ve been spending time meditating on the confidence we can have in our identity in Christ. And looking at passages of courage have been very enlightening. But the question is, does any of this matter? Does it really affect our daily walk with the Lord? And can this confidence be taken too far into a cockiness that attempts to supplant God’s authority with our own?

What does courage look like?

Courage looks like David who ran at Goliath.

Courage looks like Caleb & Joshua who said to go in and take the land.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Courage is trusting God to give us all we need to accomplish all that He requires of us.” quote=”Courage looks like following God, regardless of the circumstances around us. Trusting that He will give us all we need to accomplish all that He requires.”]

When courage works itself out in our lives, it shows confidence in where God is calling us and what He will equip us to do. This confidence comes out in the way we pray, the way we share our faith, the way we disciple others, the way we speak truth in love, the way we stand against lies, the way we fully step into our position in Christ and our authority in His name.

Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Cor 3:4-6

Confidence in God, and who we are as daughters of the King, is a beautiful thing to behold!

Our confidence comes from courage, but it also sparks courage in others. David’s courage to confront Goliath showed itself in the confidence born of God’s faithfulness in the past and an expectation of His faithfulness in the future. His confidence, lived out fully, caused the entire nation of Israel to grow in courage.

Are we tipping the scale from confidence to cockiness?

In all of this journey of courage and confidence, we can end up going too far. Not too far in trusting God or confidence in who He has created us to be. But, we can fall prey to believing that it is US who hold the key to the power of our faith.

When we begin to put ourselves in the center of the story, we have stepped off the Confidence platform and fallen to the Cockiness track below. This track is a place of danger and destruction. Not unlike the tracks of a train, we can easily get sucked under by the pull of the pride building in our own hearts.

When we think that WE have the corner on truth or that WE actually have power over God, we have fallen into the sin of the devil: pride.

Now, the reality is that every one of us struggles with pride to some extent. I wish I could say that I was immune or that I had the key to keeping out of the lure of this sin. The only thing I know is that once we begin to take credit for the mighty things of God, we are stepping off that platform and slipping to the tracks below.

The beauty of God’s love for us is that He is always holding tight to our hands and shaking us up when we begin to get near to that edge. It doesn’t mean we don’t fall into pride, but it does mean that He is there to lovingly discipline us back to the safety of His arms. He wants us to live fully on fire with courage and confidence in who He is and what He’s done and is doing in our lives. We just need to continue to remember who it is that is changing us and in whose image we are created.

Do you struggle with courage? Do you struggle with confidence?

Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. 2 Cor 3:12-13

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. 2 Cor 3:18

Don’t let other people confuse your confidence in God for cockiness. Our hearts are defined by God and God alone. David was reproved by his brothers because of his confidence. But his boasting was a boasting in the character and nature of God, not in his own strength.

Learn more fully who you are in Christ, let His identity fill you will the courage of David as he ran toward Goliath. Let your confidence be in the God who has and will empower you to fight the enemies around you. Let your courage be in the name and glory of our Living Lord!

My Menu

Here is my plan for my supper meals this coming week in my Menu Planning Monday. Please feel free to download my FREE, fully editable, Month at a Glance menu planner, my Weekly Menu Planner and my new Snacks planner.

My suppers for the coming week:

Monday: grilled chicken, salad
Tuesday: beef fajitas with peppers & onions
Wednesday: baked fish w/broccoli
Thursday: tuna salad w/green beans
Friday: pizza on Joseph’s pita bread
Saturday: bacon cheeseburger w/asparagus
Sunday: chicken quesidillas w/raw veggies

All Scripture quotations are taken from the NASB.
Unless otherwise indicated, photos from pixaby.com