How do you describe yourself? Do you feel confident at school, among your friends, peers or around adults? Or do you often feel shy, nervous, inhibited, stressed-out—unable to be yourself?

How do you handle uncomfortable situations? Perhaps you have been asked to give a speech, answer questions in class, play an unfamiliar game, or explain a concept to an adult.

You do not need to be unsure of yourself, feeling as though you have butterflies in your stomach. You can have confidence no matter what situation you face—and not just confidence, but strong confidence.

What Is It?

Confidence is simply giving your all in whatever situation you encounter. It is speaking up and not being afraid to contribute your thoughts and input when appropriate. It is being positive about your ability to perform a task, master a subject, or achieve a goal. Confident people believe they can succeed.

Through confidence, people achieve goals others never thought they could. Often, such assurance is the difference between failure and success. As the saying goes, “If you believe, you can achieve.”

Numerous historical figures accomplished great feats despite an initial lack of confidence. They succeeded—and so can you.

 

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Great Leader

When God called him to lead Israel out of Egypt, Moses was not confident he could perform the task, or that he was the right man for the job. He said, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Ex. 3:11).

Moses was assured by God that He would be with him—but Moses was still uncertain.

God even showed miracles to reassure him. For example, He turned Moses’ rod into a snake and back into a rod again. He also turned Moses’ hand leprous and then healed it (4:2-7).

But Moses continued to make excuses, saying he could not speak well. When God promised He would speak through him, Moses still asked God to send someone else! With so many excuses, God became angry (vs. 10-14).

Perhaps you have felt as Moses did whenever you have been asked to do something you thought you were incapable of doing. Perhaps you, too, have made excuses.

Notice that when Moses obeyed, however, God was with him. Through powerful miracles, God helped him to deliver Israel from slavery in Egypt (Ex. 7-12). Moses became one of the greatest leaders in history. Obeying God gave him strong confidence—not confidence in himself, but bold assurance in God.

This was demonstrated at the Red Sea, where the Israelites were trapped with Pharaoh’s army fast approaching to return them to slavery. Naturally, the people were scared—but not Moses. He had enough experience to know that God would be with him if he relied on Him. As the Egyptian army approached, Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” (Ex. 14:13-14, New King James Version).

Moses endured many tests and trials, but by consistently relying on God he successfully led Israel through the wilderness.

Prophet to the Nations

Jewish tradition states that Jeremiah was about 17 years old when God commissioned him to be a prophet to the nations. Yet Jeremiah made excuses: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child” (Jer. 1:6).

But God assured Jeremiah that He would be with him, and that He would tell the young man what to say. All Jeremiah had to do was obey (vs. 7-9).

Jeremiah listened, and the young prophet developed strong confidence through seeing God intervene on his behalf time and again. This enabled him to successfully endure and overcome the many hardships that beset him as he carried out his commission.

For example, strong confidence in God gave Jeremiah great boldness to take an unpopular message to Judah: that the nation would be defeated if the people did not repent of their wicked ways. During the reigns of five kings, Jeremiah continually warned Judah, but the people would not listen. Instead, they became angry and even threatened to kill him if he did not cease to speak. They preferred to listen to false prophets who told them no harm would come. (Read Jeremiah 18 and 23.)

Jeremiah then preached against the lies of the false prophets, emphasizing that danger was imminent. Subsequently, he did not have many friends in Judah, but this did not deter him. He was more concerned with obeying God.

Throughout his life, Jeremiah endured taunting, beatings and imprisonments. Once he was seized by a mob as he cried aloud to the people (26:1-8). On another occasion, the king burned the book Jeremiah had written warning the nation of impending disaster (36:23). Then there was the time Jeremiah was thrown into a filthy pit (38:6).

But Jeremiah refused to disobey God, who gave him the confidence he needed to continue.

And, just as Jeremiah prophesied, destruction eventually came to Judah by the hands of the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar (52:27-30).

God also used Jeremiah to safely transport the throne of David from Jerusalem to Ireland. This was a difficult and dangerous job, as he had to escort the king’s daughters while Jerusalem was under attack.

Once again, the prophet endured many dangers in carrying out this duty. Yet his continual obedience to God gave him confidence to successfully complete the mission. Through Jeremiah’s boldness, the throne of David exists today. To learn more about this, read America and Britain in Prophecy at rcg.org/aabibp.

Courageous King

Hezekiah was one of the most righteous kings of Judah. His steadfast obedience to God set a great example for his people. Early in his reign, Hezekiah repaired the Temple in Jerusalem and restored the proper observance of Passover. He also destroyed idols in the land and restored the true priests, the Levites, to their rightful place of honor and service among the people.

When Hezekiah learned that the Assyrians were planning to attack, he exhibited strong confidence by saying to the people, “Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there are more with us than with him: with him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles…” (II Chron. 32:7-8).

These courageous words strengthened Judah.

Assyrian King Sennacherib sent his three highest officials to deliver a message to the people of Judah. The people were told to surrender, and that God could not save them.

When Hezekiah heard this, he did not panic. He prayed to God for deliverance, confident that He would act on Judah’s behalf—and God answered Hezekiah’s prayer: He sent “the angel of the Lord” to kill 185,000 Assyrian troops and all of their leaders (II Kings 19:35; II Chron. 32:21). It was a dramatic deliverance—all because Hezekiah placed his confidence in God.

Later, when he was near death, Hezekiah confidently asked God to extend his life—and God gave him an additional 15 years (II Kings 20:1-6).

Godly Confidence

Moses, Jeremiah and Hezekiah are examples of people who succeeded despite tremendous odds. They were able to do this because they developed strong confidence. But this was not self-confidence. They had confidence in God—assurance that they could accomplish tremendous things through God working in them. And they did!

The keys they used to develop strong confidence were faith and obedience to God. Put simply, faith is believing that what God says in the Bible is true, and that He will always keep His promises (Heb. 11:1, 6). To have faith, you must know the promises God has made in the Bible. If you are not familiar with them, you cannot claim them. Therefore, you must study the scriptures.

But faith is worthless unless you obey God. This is done by keeping His laws, departing from evil, and doing what is right. Once you obey God, and have faith that He will keep His promises, God will act on your behalf because you are living in a manner that pleases Him. Then, as you see God continually act on your behalf, you will naturally trust that He will help you to achieve your goals. Over time, you will develop strong confidence.

You might be wondering, “What about people I know who are disobeying God but seem confident?” Such self-confidence lasts only when times are good because it is based solely on human strength. It is like a man who builds his house upon the sand: “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it” (Matt. 7:27).

Confidence in human strength evaporates when sore trials and tests come. But godly confidence—bold assurance in what God can do for and through you—is like a man who builds his house on rock; it will endure even severe trials (Matt. 7:25).

Once you see the fruits of God working in your life, be careful not to be overconfident and slip back into relying on your own abilities rather than on God. Overconfidence is a result of pride. God works with the humble, not the proud (Jms. 4:6).

Remember to regularly thank God for your achievements. Give Him the honor and respect He deserves, and He will continue to help and guide you. Place your trust in Him (Prov. 3:5-6).

You never need to be fearful, nervous or “stressed-out.” Quit harboring doubts about your abilities. You can develop the positive attitude of the apostle Paul: “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).

Obey God and ask Him for faith to believe His words. In doing so, He will be with you.

With God’s help, you can have strong confidence.