By John Grant
“So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you.” Hebrews 10:35
The headline read: “Consumer Confidence Hits Post Recession High.” People are excited. Things are getting better economically. More people will buy more things and more jobs will be created raising more tax dollars to fuel the public sector. Revenues are up and the deficit is down.
However, the article failed to point out that the consumer confidence level is twenty-five percent below where it was a dozen years ago. People are still skeptical about the economic direction and have every right to be.
If we’re going to be confident in something, Psalm 118:8, 9 tells us what it should be: “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.”
Those who trust in government, finances, other people, or themselves will be disappointed in the end. On the other hand, those who put their confidence in God will never be ashamed (Romans 10:11).
Our confidence is grown out of our dependence upon God, not some economic index. Confidence means to have trustworthiness. A person may think, “I can manage on my own.” We can have the confidence of victory only if we put our confidence in God and not ourselves or the economy or anyone or anything else.
Our confidence should not be reliant upon our abilities, but upon the Lord. Paul’s confidence was not in his intellect or speaking ability, but in the knowledge that the Holy Spirit was helping and guiding him.
Psalm 20:6-8 tells us how some put their confidence in their own strength and not in the Lord. Throughout the Bible we are told of instances where confidence has been misplaced. These are given as examples for us to follow or learn why that is not where our confidence should be placed.
Confidence from God means a new outlook on life’s problems. With it we have the determination to confront the challenges we face in life.
We are to follow God’s commandments and place our confidence in Him and Him alone.
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https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2013/08/24/jg_confidence/
– John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney