Firm trust.
Children have no difficulty with confidence. They
trust without question. Children trust firmly, with resolution. Confidence
comes naturally to a child.
Then, everything changes. Sometime, somewhere,
somehow, confidence wanes, trust falters. One grows and the focus of trust
shifts away from the parent to self. We throw ourselves off balance when God’s
natural design is corrupted by the sin nature. Confidence is significantly
weakened and distrust takes over.
Confidence must be relearned, re-established and to
have it fully, one must return to the one who instilled that in our design. We
must return to our maker, and in so-doing, retrain ourselves to think, live, believe
differently. Confidence takes discipline. We need to practice trusting God and
practice takes time, requires focus, saying “yes” to some things and “no”
others. Our mental, physical and spiritual diets may have to change, get rid of
the fat that weighs us down, build up the spiritual muscles we need to be
functional and powerful.
Peter wrote, “Therefore, brethren, be all the more
diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you
practice these things, you will never stumble.” (2 Peter 1:10).
What are “these things” that require discipline and
how do “these things” build confidence? God has already and powerfully given
everything we need for both life and godliness, achieved by knowing Christ (2
Pe. 1:2-3). By His glory and excellence, God has granted precious and
magnificent promises for the purpose of experiencing Him and thus escaping the
sinfulness that holds us down, prevents growth—kills us (2 Pe 1:4). Now,
reconnected to our Maker by the means of Christ, we have confidence restored by
faith which gives rise to moral excellence, leading to knowledge, manifesting
in self-control, with strong perseverance, in the context of godliness that in
turn builds up others in love. (2 Pe 1:5-8).
And it gets better because “these things” are not
useless, nor are they unfruitful because our confidence is not for us to keep
and turn inwardly again, throwing ourselves off-balance; rather, our confidence
in Christ is for others, that they too can be unburdened from sin!
Confidence, firm trust, means there is no need for disorientation because of a firm hold on the solid foundation that will never move!
