2015 defined: confident

To continue my series on my inspiring words of 2015, we now move on the the word “confident”.

If there’s any one thing that has been the biggest struggle of my life, it would have to be insecurity. I am constantly questioning myself, worrying about how I appear to others, and fearing my imperfections. I regret that I’ve wasted so much time in my life being concerned about these things.

So this year, I am going to try to tackle it (again)! I’ve heard it said that confidence does not come from being particularly amazing in and of yourself, but instead knowing who is on your side. Really at the end of the day, I know that if God is on my side, why worry about what other people think? And who is to say they’re thinking bad things of me, anyway? But trusting that thinking and being fearlessly authentic – that’s another story.

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This is probably going to be my theme scripture for the year:

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” – Hebrews 10:19-23, NIV

Jesus opened the way for us to be right with God, to have nothing standing in our way of being close to him. So, we have nothing to fear – not people, not death, not anything. God is with us.

“So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?'” – Hebrews 13:6, NIV

“When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.” – Nehemiah 6:16, NIV

“But closed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They 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

“The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.” – Isaiah 32:17, NIV

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