Who You Know
I firmly believe you did not stumble upon this blog by mistake. God wants to grow your confidence in a new way.
Where does your confidence stem from? What do you believe makes you, you?
Is it the makeup you wear that may hide your acne scars or insecurities? Is it the outfits you pick out, the jewelry you style with the fit? The abilities and talents you have? Maybe it’s not what you have or do, but it’s who you are associated with. Is it the family you’re born into, the friends you have, or the boy you think can solve all self-esteem issues?
Your reasons for your confidence may work for a given amount of time, but do they remain as you go through every experience? Is your confidence built on things or people that are not stable and can let you down? I mean we all know people can disappoint. And cute outfits or makeup can’t stay on 24/7. Plus, those abilities or talents you have are only used in certain situations or during certain periods in your life. Where, then, does your confidence come from when those things aren’t there or applicable?
You may be wondering now if I totally just debunked all that you had to fall back on. Those things, talents, and people are good answers. There is nothing completely wrong with them as they can help add to confidence. But there is one person who can sustain your confidence. And that is Jesus.
In the story of Moses, God called him to carry out a big task. In turn, Moses gave many excuses such as who am I to go? (Exodus 3:11); What if they won’t listen? (Exodus 4:1); I don’t speak very well (Exodus 4:10); and more. Yet, little did he know, God is a big and powerful God. Every excuse and explanation Moses gave to not be the one sent to do the task was shot down. Even when he just plainly asked God by the end to just send someone else, God didn’t grant it (Exodus 4:13). God’s answer to each concern was that He would be with Moses the whole time. The only One Moses needed to know and learn to stand on was God. The confidence Moses required could only stem from Him. God answered, “now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak” (Exodus 4:12). God basically said enough of trying to figure things out while explaining why I shouldn’t use you, just go and I will teach you along the way.
You may be thinking how does that give one confidence? It doesn’t right away, but once you take the step forward knowing that it is part of why God has made you, then you walk differently. You begin to learn that your confidence is not from your abilities, or lack thereof, but everything comes from Him. You get your abilities redefined by God for Him to use them in the way He has planned. You find that you don’t need to depend on makeup for confidence because your confidence comes from God and what He says about you.
You find that you don’t need to depend on makeup for confidence when your confidence comes from God and what He says about you.
Likewise, you learn to not need the approval or attention from that boy, or those friends, since you know you have your Creator’s approval and love. Gaining all of this doesn’t have to come from God giving you a big task to take on, but just from what He would have us do to honor Him each day. Look for ways He can use you each day. Also, you can just take steps in the way of being a leader that God can use to impact lives of others.
In being a leader, you first lead by example and then by instruction.
Therefore, you don’t need to gossip to be liked, cuss to fit in, or gain attention from others to feel seen or accepted. When you start to turn away from doing these things, you may have some people start to follow the example you set. Others may start to gravitate toward you because you are different and don’t behave the same way. These actions are all part of being a leader. It may not happen right away, or it can happen quickly, but either way you learn to be the leader of your own life while learning to enjoy being you. One step at a time, with God by your side, your confidence grows in who He is and who He has made you to be. On the other hand, you will lose some people who were with you because you acted a certain way. Honestly, if they were just friends with you or around you for that reason, you’re not completely losing a friend. Knowing this should help build up your confidence. God has a plan for your life that is bigger than what others might think or say about you. He says you are chosen (Ephesians 1:4), you are loved (Ephesians 2:4-5), you are forgiven (Acts 13:38-39), you are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). He made you for a specific purpose that He wants to do through you, and all you have to do is follow Him.