Hold On to Your Confidence

Rhema TeamOctober/November 2021 WOFLeave a Comment

print

German theologian Martin Luther once said, “Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times.”

Has anyone ever dared you to do something? When I was a young boy in school, I was known for trying anything once. It caused some scars and broken bones, but I did it anyway. I had a lot of confidence in myself.

Having confidence in God and His Word is the key to victory and success. Hebrews 10:35 (NLT) says, “So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!”

One definition of confidence is “the quality or state of being certain.” Another definition is “faith or belief that one will act in a right, proper, or effective way.” Based on those definitions, we can be certain that God will act effectively according to what He said in His Word.

The secret to experiencing the miraculous is found in confidently obeying what God tells us to do.
Kenneth W. Hagin

The Secret to Experiencing Miracles

The Bible contains many examples of people who faced obstacles, difficulties, and persecution. Each one rose up in victory because they confidently trusted in God.

One of the greatest stories of that kind of confidence is of Moses and the Israelites at the Red Sea. With the sea in front of them and the Egyptian army behind them, it looked as if there was no escape. The people cried out in fear and complained to Moses. But he didn’t tell the men to get their weapons ready or form a battle plan. He simply said, “Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord” (Exod. 14:13 NKJV).

I’m sure it took a great deal of confidence to tell over 1 million people to stand still and do nothing in the face of danger. But the people listened to Moses. The sea parted, and they crossed on dry ground. God delivered the Israelites and completely destroyed the Egyptian Army.

For the children of Israel, the difference between victory and defeat was their confidence in what God said through Moses. For us, the secret to experiencing the miraculous is found in confidently obeying what God tells us to do.

King David is another example of someone who had steadfast confidence in God. David was constantly attacked by his enemies. The only help he could rely on was His confidence in God. He said, “Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living” (Ps. 27:13 NLT).

David’s confidence in the Lord began as a teenager when he killed a bear and a lion while tending his father’s sheep. It manifested again when he defeated Goliath. When Saul tried to kill David, the young man trusted in God’s ability to protect him. He repeatedly defeated Israel’s archenemies, the Philistines. And David believed God would be with him as he ruled over Israel. The end result of David’s confidence was victory and success. No enemy ruled over him!

Confidence Brings Reward

Believers today need that same kind of confidence in God. We must quit allowing our enemy—the devil—to rule over our lives.

People exhibit confidence all the time, whether they realize it or not. For example, when they sit down on a chair, they believe it will hold them up. Christians should exercise the same confidence, if not more, when it comes to the Word of God. We need to confidently say what my dad, Kenneth E. Hagin, always said: “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it!”

In Hebrews 10:35, we saw that confident trust in the Lord brings a great reward. And Jeremiah 17:7 (NLT) says, “Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.” To be rewarded and blessed, however, we must do what God says.

Some people begin to lose confidence in God’s Word because something didn’t happen the way they thought it should. The Bible says when we ask for anything that pleases the Lord, we can be confident that He will answer our prayer.

1 JOHN 5:14–15 (NLT)

14 And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.

15 And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.

We should never doubt God or say, “Well, what if it doesn’t work?” The Word says God hears us when we pray, and He has promised to answer. Therefore, we can confidently believe!

Confidence in God Makes All Things Possible

My dad was a man who believed God. I remember one time when I was about five years old, Dad had been preaching in West Texas. After the meetings were over, we loaded up the car and headed for my grandmother’s house over 300 miles away in McKinney, Texas.

We stopped at a gas station, and Dad put his last $5 in the tank. It didn’t even bring the gauge to half full. Dad got back in the car and confidently said, “God, they didn’t give me any money at the church where I just got through preaching. This is all the money I’ve got. I put the gas in the car. I thank You now, and I expect this car to run ‘til we get to Momma’s house.”

I watched the gas gauge go down to empty. But I never saw my dad squirm, sweat, or become fearful, because he confidently expected to have what he said. That car ran on empty for many miles! We arrived at my grandmother’s house in the middle of the night.

The next day, I went down to a little store to get gas and carried it back to the house. When we took the cap off the tank, we couldn’t even smell gas! Dad put the gas in the tank, but the car still wouldn’t start. We had to take the breather off the carburetor and pour gasoline into it to get it started. The only reason we made it to Grandmother’s house in a car running on empty was, Dad dared to believe God.

Having confidence means you believe whether you can see it, feel it, touch it, or taste it. When you put your trust in God based on His Word, an assurance will rise in your heart. Your thinking will switch from believing something might happen to knowing it will happen simply because God said it!


Author

Image

Kenneth W. Hagin

Share this Post

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *