Holy Confidence

Holy Confidence

My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart! Psalm 108:1

JIM ELLIOT, ONE OF THE MISSIONARIES killed in the 1950s after making land contact with the Huaorani people of Ecuador, made a profound statement that continues to inspire many: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” This statement gained even more impact after his and his colleagues’ deaths. They knew their mission was risky but were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for it. No one says such a thing—or backs it up with his life—without supreme confidence in God, his ability to protect and deliver, and his promises for eternity. Only someone who trusts God implicitly can sing his praises in the face of such danger.

Confidence in God is part of the inheritance of all who believe in him. Paul demonstrated this throughout his ministry. He got up and walked back into a city immediately after being dragged out of it, stoned, and left for dead (Acts 14:19-20). He told the Philippians he was confident that God would complete his work in them (Philippians 1:6). And he told Timothy that in spite of suffering in prison, he knew the one he trusted and was confident God would guard his work to the end (2 Timothy 1:12). He understood that we don’t just believe in God for the things he can give us. We invest our hearts in his eternal purposes. We trust him with our lives.

Live with that inheritance in mind. Don’t hold back in the life of faith. You’ve been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20), and you’ve been given multiple assurances that God is watching over you, guiding you, listening to your longings and prayers, protecting you from ruin, and teaching you through all of life’s ups and downs. All that’s left is to have confidence in him and sing his praises. Even your hardest experiences will soften when you do, and the joy of being his beloved child and friend will keep coming irrepressibly to the surface. You will live with confidence when you’ve placed your trust in him.

Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.