What do you do to instill confidence in your life? Read a good book? Take a course in self-confidence? Brush up on your resume skills?
The Bible can instill confidence in our lives more than anything else if we really believe it. God's Word says “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV). I believe a part of being “fully equipped for every good work” is having a confidence in God that will enable us to live differently than the rest of the world.
In the New Testament book of Romans alone, there is an arsenal of confidence-building verses for the follower of Christ. Here are just five passages from Romans (all from Chapter 8) that will boost your confidence if you really believe them.
1. You are not condemned - Romans 8:1
How often we are down on ourselves. How often we might feel under the scrutiny of our boss, our co-workers, our parents, our siblings, not to mention God Himself. Yet Romans 8:1 announces the glorious news: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (ESV). The ultimate Judge says when you are trusting in Christ Jesus alone for your salvation, you are not guilty, not condemned, not found a failure. That is liberating. How often we replay in our minds our mental recordings of past sins that we wish we could forget. Yet, Scripture tells us that God forgets our sin and removes it from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). The fact that we are not, nor will we ever be condemned, is life-giving. Live confidently because you are forgiven and free.
2.There are no accidents - Romans 8:28-29
Nothing in your life takes God by surprise. And no mistake or outright failure of yours is unfixable. Scripture tells us “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…” It’s true, life can be messy, whether it’s from choosing our way over God’s, or from being the victim of unfortunate circumstances. Yet knowing that God can turn the mess into a more hopeful future, and transform some of our pain into our purpose not only brings relief, but joy. Nothing is unworkable in God’s perfect plan for your life. Trust the process and live confidently, knowing that God is allowing all things – even the bad, frustrating, unexplainable, and downright irritating things – to shape you into the likeness of His perfect Son.
3. God is on your side - Romans 8:3
Would you live more confidently knowing you are never on your own? That the God of the Universe is pulling for you? The last part of Romans 8:31 tells us: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” In another translation that verse, in context with the next three verses, reads like this:
“So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us” (Romans 8:31-34, The Message).
We have nothing and no one to fear when we realize that God is both going before us, and watching our backs.
4. You are victorious through Christ - Romans 8:37
Everybody wants to be a winner. And God’s Word tells us the battle is already won. The Bible asks a rhetorical question in Romans 8 and then answers it for us:
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?… No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (verses 35,37).
Can you live confidently knowing you are more than a conqueror through Him who loves you?
5. Nothing will separate you from God’s love - Romans 8:38-39
True security and confidence comes from knowing we are unconditionally and eternally loved for who we are and nothing will be able to change that. Romans 8:38-39 gives us that assurance when it says, “neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
In a world where so many rewards are conditional upon our actions, our attitude, and our accomplishments, God lays it out straight when He says nothing in all of creation will be able to separate us from His love. We have His ultimate reward simply because of Who Christ Jesus is.
If those five facts don’t boost your confidence in who you are and what you have in Christ Jesus, I don’t know what will.
Cindi McMenamin is a national speaker and best-selling author who helps women and couples find strength for the soul. She is the author of 15 books, including When Couples Walk Together (co-authored with her husband, Hugh), When God Sees Your Tears, God's Whispers to a Woman's Heart, and 10 Secrets to Becoming a Worry-Free Mom. For more on her books, ministry, or free resources to strengthen your soul, marriage, or relationships, see her website: StrengthForTheSoul.com.
Original Publication date: October 18, 2016
Photo credit: Unsplash/kellysikkema