Locus of Confidence

Mark Batterson post:  Holy Confidence

I love the questions in Scripture. Answering those questions is a healthy and holy exercise.  One of my favorites is found in II Kings 18:19: “What are you basing your confidence on?”

You can base your confidence on lots of different things: how smart you are or how good God is.  You can base it on your resources or God’s promises.  You can base it on your past successes or the fact that God is sovereign.

Ask yourself the question: what is the locus on your confidence?  Is it you or God? There is a world of difference between self confidence and holy confidence.  It all has to do with what you base your confidence on.  It’s a subtle difference, but it’s as different as night and day. I honestly have a low self confidence, but I have a holy confidence that grows stronger every day!  I trust God. I trust His heart. I trust His hand.

You can base your confidence on your gifts in a selfish way or you can base you confidence on your God-given gifts. The latter confidence is an acknowledgment that God is the one who gifted you and you function with confidence because of that fact.

Have you submitted your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ?  Are you walking in obedience and faith?  If you are, then a holy confidence is your birthright.  If you keep submitting, God will get you where you need to go.  If you keep seeking, God will do what needs to be done.

So what makes it a holy confidence? It’s the fact that your confidence is rooted in holiness–His character and your character. I love the way Job 4:6 juxtaposes these two ideas: “Should not your piety be your confidence?”