Where is Your Confidence?
Do you ever wish that you lived in a simpler time? I sure feel that way occasionally. I find life very complex in many areas.
I was speaking with a fellow teacher the other day of how both families and school systems have changed over the years. In our early days of teaching, most families were intact. Such is not the case now as we have many students navigating the challenges of their parents living apart. In the past, more families had one stay at home parent. Today most families have both parents working in order to survive the ever-rising cost of living.
Today teaching requires a lot more than just teaching the basic curriculum. We expend a lot of effort to teach our students social/emotional skills to help them overcome anxiety and lack of confidence to be productive students and members of the community. Confidence building is a huge part of what we do to encourage our students to lead productive lives.
We all face a great deal of challenges as we seek to balance our lives in our fast-paced world and find our grounding somehow.
How do we build our confidence when the foundations of life seem to be crumbling around us? Where do we put our trust when leaders, companies, and institutions fail us?
The prophet Jeremiah provides us with the answer:
“But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17: 7-8 NIV)
There is so much to unpack in these words. Firstly, trust and confidence go hand in hand. We gain confidence when we put our trust in something solid. It is a challenge to have confidence when we put our hope in earthly things or people. God, our solid Rock, is our constant source of stability and purpose.
When our confidence is based on the Lord’s work in our lives, we need not fear. Though the days of drought come – emotionally, physically, mentally – we have a source of living water to draw from. There is no end to the resources that God provides. It is like a stream of water that never runs dry.
Trust and worry do not coincide. If we truly trust in the Lord to take care of our needs, then worry does not have a place. I know I find this a hard concept – not to believe it with my mind, but to enact it in my spiritual life. Worry chips away at us, leaving scars and despair. How much better our lives can be with a solid trust in the only One who is sure and certain.
Lastly, Jeremiah speaks of the tree, rooted in God, never failing to bear fruit. I don’t know about you my friend, but I find it challenging to use my spiritual gifts when I am bound by worry and concern. Focusing on our Lord and His mighty ways leads us to greater heights and possibilities.
Whatever you are facing today you can know that confidence in our Lord is never a bad thing. He has purpose for you and He will support you in that purpose. Take heart and trust in our loving God who cares for you beyond measure.
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