Have you ever had “one of those weeks” when it seems like you are experiencing both good and bad times all at once? This week has been like that for me. In just five days I have experienced three heartbreaking loses and three experiences that could only be described as miraculous blessings. My life has been an elevator gone out of control, shooting to great heights, plunging to the depth of despair then right back up to the top again. I couldn’t begin to share with you all that has happened to me in such a short period of time. It has shaken and tested my confidence in a way I have never experienced before. As difficult as it is to do, I continue to pray for and expect a positive outcome with confidence. I know God already won the ultimate victory over my life when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior.
Are you confident? What or who is it that gives you confidence? It isn’t self-confidence that we need in such turbulent times as these. It is too easy to become over confident in our own abilities when things are going well and then lose confidence when we face serious challenges above our pay grade. Job said, “Their confidence hangs by a thread. They are leaning on a spider’s web.” (Job 8:14)
God’s word also warns us to be very careful in whom we place confidence. “Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there.” (Psalms 146:3) “Putting confidence in an unreliable person in times of trouble is like chewing with a broken tooth or walking on a lame foot.” (Proverbs 25:19) God also warns us not to put confidence in wealth or material possessions. Those things then become our idols and He warns us about idolatry in His very first commandment that is written in stone.
So that leaves us with only one in whom we can place our confidence; the one who knew us even before we were born and knows everything about us, even the number of hairs on our head. “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.” (Jeremiah 17:7) So I put my confidence in my Lord when I face dire straits and I praise Him when I am lifted to new heights. In either situation He gives me confidence and strength.