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Self-Confidence vs. God-Confidence
April 1, 2008
In my pursuit to become more like Jesus I am reading the book, "Character Makeover" by Katie Brazelton. I covers 8 character qualities that are the most prevalent strongholds for women today. A stronghold is when the enemy, Satan, sets up camp and settles in leaving us virtually powerless.
One of my strongholds has been in the area of confidence. Maybe this story will give you an example of how and when that stronghold happened. I was a teenager sitting at the dinner table. I don't remember what we were eating that night but I do remember being hungry and feeling chatty. Everyone was chewing away as I was telling my sister, mom and dad some of the events of the day and my opinion of the day's events. All of a sudden, my dad looks up from his meal, swallows his food and with a look of disgust, says to me, "do you think anyone cares what you have to say? Do you really think that anyone wants to isten to you?"
Satan dug in deep that day and I stopped talking! I can't even describe in words what I felt that night. Satan's camp was fully set up in a fast instant, like one of those pop up cards you buy at the Hallmark store, and I was in prison with bars all around me. Thick bars! Bars I couldn't move. From time to time I would wrap my hands around those thick bars and try to shake them into opening. When I couldn't get them to even budge I would look for the key thinking it dropped on the floor. I would search in the corners; get down on my knees to look under the bed. Sometimes I would just give up and decide there was nothing that could be done. Just sit there in defeat. But always, after a time, hoping and looking, shaking once again.
It has been a very long journey, the bars did open unexpectedly but that's another story for another time. As I walk farther and farther away from that camp I realize there are three things that I can dwell on that will keep me from ever going back and setting up residence.
1) I can dwell on "who I am in Christ". If I dwell on the negatives that others project onto me I will be back in that camp in the blink of an eye.
2) I can dwell on "what my worth is in Christ". Whoa, that can boggle my mind when I think on what He chose to do for me.
3) I can dwell on "my purpose for being here", which is to become more like Him and bring glory to His name.
Phillipians 4:8 says to think on several things one of which is "whatsoever is true". When I choose to dwell on and believe what God's Word has to say to me and about me I have God-confidence, which is so much more glorifying to God than the self-confidence I can muster up.
I highly recommend 'Character Makeover' to you as a way of finding strongholds in your life. In the near future I will be offering a tele-class using the book. More to come on that...
Rhoda
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