When our heart belongs to God—our fear is lost in His strength and we live in the confidence of HIS invincibility.
Yesterday, we talked about how to GAIN God’s invincible courage; so now let’s discuss how we LOSE it.
One verse sums up the answer:
“The WICKED flee when no one pursues, But the RIGHTEOUS are bold as a lion.”
Proverbs 28:1
Those who live according to God’s standard of righteousness (in other words not in sin)—stand with God—who is supremely confident.
So, why is it that we, as professed children of God, EVER come to live without confidence? Well, we have three enemies who masquerade as our friends. They blur the lines and work overtime to deceive us. And when we forsake the truth of God’s Word and begin to favor the pleasure of sin over God’s presence—we are no longer standing with God.
Sin not only separates us from our confidence in Christ; but it limits our opportunities.
To live in sin is like placing ourselves in the penalty box during the heat of a game. We’re out. We will never score that winning goal. That revolving door of sin will keep us off the ice and we will never explore the outer limits of God’s remarkable plan for our life.
We can’t have opportunities to build confidence in God and the great adventures He has planned if we’re sitting in the penalty box!
My friend, if you want to live without confidence then—live in sin. But if you desire to live with a mindset of invincibility, you must be dedicated to spending time with your Holy Father and conform your life to His ways. Passionate, loving obedience to God draws us closer to Him. We see Him more for who He is and He reveals the greatness He created for us.
When we are close to God, we have the power to live fearlessly. God isn’t afraid of anything because He knows everything. Who is God? God is, was, and always has been. Do you fear the great unknown of death, or a future that may include disease, heartbreak, financial disaster, career failure, peer pressure, or loneliness? Draw close to God, who fears NONE of these things!
God’s presence is where our confidence should begin and end!
Then…
~like Daniel, we face the roaring lions—with confidence in God;
~like David, we face our Goliaths—with confidence in God;
~like Elisha, we can face the greatest mob without a single weapon and watch God blind them and scatter them like docile sheep;
~like Moses, we will be fearless to allow God to part our own Red Sea even when our enemy has trapped us on the brink of destruction.
My friend, God doesn’t always deliver us the way WE think He should. But if we don’t seek Him, we’ll never know HIS way. Our confidence in Him is born the day we receive His gift of salvation. On this day, He delivered us from the greatest threat to our confidence—eternal death. But we are surrounded by enemies and we need to armor up! On this earth—we WILL encounter giants, we WILL walk amongst lions. Each time we encounter trouble—it is an extraordinary opportunity to experience God’s great strength and deliverance. It is also an amazing opportunity to glorify God so others can see His majesty.
King Darius—who in all likelihood was not even a born again believer—was so amazed by God’s deliverance of Daniel that he sent out this decree to his entire kingdom:
“I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, and steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure to the end. He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, Who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”
Daniel 6:26-27
Shouldn’t we, as God’s children, have even GREATER confidence in God? Yes!! And when we live in the confidence of the power of God, each storm becomes simply another opportunity to demonstrate His glory.
We would love to hear your thoughts about this devotional. Did God speak to you or challenge your daily walk with him? Or is there a topic that you would like Kimberly to cover or expound on? Please share with us in the comments below.
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