At work today, we were asked,
"If you were stranded on an island, what one movie would you have with you?" My answer was
The Sound of Music, a favorite for many reasons, not the least of which is the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein. Classics like
My Favorite Things,
Do-Re-Mi, and Climb Every Mountain, evoke all kinds of emotions and introspection. I've been humming
"I Have Confidence," which chronicles the lead character Maria's (Julie Andrews) journey moving from her calling as a nun to that of a nanny of the Von Trapp Children. As she walks the road to her new destiny she has mixed feelings of energy, excitement, fear and doubt. Maria's voice crescendos as she sings and dances with bravado into the chorus, "
All I trust I leave my heart to, All I trust becomes my own! I have confidence in confidence alone! Besides which you see, I have confidence in me!"
I wish I had more CONFIDENCE - the feeling or belief that you can rely on someone or something; a feeling of self-assurance arising from one's appreciation of one's own abilities or qualities. I want to have full trust in God and my abilities, yet I find myself too often in self-doubt. It's an internal struggle with - Am I good enough? Do I measure up? Having confidence in the LORD is one thing. Scripture says, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose confidence is in the LORD." (Jer. 17:7) Having confidence in yourself is quite another. Joshua and Caleb made a confident statement as they shared with fearful Israel about the promised land, "Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it." (Numbers 13:30)
The things God wants to do in the earth require human participation. If we are insecure and lack confidence, we'll never even
attempt what God is asking for. We'll be like the other 10 spies who looked at a good land but were too chicken to go and conquer it.
Your very first battlefield is in your own mind. It's your negative self-perception, and comparisons to
others that God wants to heal. The folks Israel feared were terrified of them! Caleb and Joshua weren't being prideful, they were confident and courageous.
The presence and power of the LORD was with them, so they were not weak or limited. The enemy wants you to think you're going it alone. He wants you to believe that everyone else is better and you don't belong in the greatness to which the LORD has called you. I'm glad that the accuser is NOT the decision maker. Let's say like Paul,
"Now all glory to God, who is able through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." (Ephesians 3:20) Intimidated? Say, I choose today have CONFIDENCE in God and in me.
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