The Gift of Confidence
2 Corinthians 5:6-8 So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence! (NRSV)
They say that the world needs adventurers. And we do – people who climb mountains, sail seas, blast off into space, go places and do things that stretch the boundaries way beyond what we thought humanity was capable of. The problem is, most of us aren’t adventurers.
Let’s be honest, we like life to be comfortable and predictable. Yeah, sometimes we don’t mind exerting ourselves, sometimes we don’t mind a bit of excitement … but better it happens on the television rather than in real life – our life!
We Christians love to quote that scripture that we walk by faith not by sight. Oh yeah … until we can’t see what’s coming next. Until things get a bit too exciting. Until life gets scary. Then we yearn for safety and security. The Apostle Paul and his motley crew were hounded, persecuted, beaten, chased out of town, shipwrecked … and on it went. And from within that reality, he wrote this:
2 Corinthians 5:6-8 So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence! (NRSV)
Do you know the word that leaps out of that for me? Confidence!
So we are always confident even when the going’s tough, even when God seems a million miles away, even when … because we walk by faith and not by sight.
Listen to me. Those excruciatingly difficult times are going to come our way. And it’s right in the midst of them that you and I are going to have to rely on Jesus by faith because we simply can’t see what’s coming next. It’s a lesson that we can only learn during those tough times. But as we learn it, God gives us a gift more precious than gold.
Confidence.
That’s His Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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