2,3 "Test me, LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for I have always been mindful of Your unfailing love and have lived in reliance on Your faithfulness."
Psalm 26:2,3 (NIV)
A confident person welcomes testing. Someone who lacks confidence doesn't. The confident person feels prepared to take on a new challenge. Someone who is unsure doesn't and shies away. What makes the difference between the two?
Scripture here gives two subtle but surefire clues:
- Confident people are mindful and secure in GOD'S UNFAILING LOVE. They know that God's love is unconditional and not performance-based. They constantly remind themselves of this.
There is nothing a person can do to cause God to love him or her more … or less. This instills incredible security. For that person, failure never can be fatal. That one is loved too well.
- Confident people live in reliance on GOD'S FAITHFULNESS. They operate life based on the faithfulness of Another. That alone makes them as secure as infants in the arms of their mothers.
They know their own faithfulness is not enough, and that God's is better-best. No circumstance can make them more confident than knowing the faithfulness of God.
Reflect:
- To what degree do you welcome testing? Are you carrying around too much “test anxiety”?
- Name an anxiety you're facing, then cast that care upon God, for He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).
- Call a timeout to remind yourself of God's love and faithfulness seen in the Word and in your world. Ask God to show you fresh evidence of this pair as needed. Then live relying on His faithfulness to play out once again in your life.
A prayer to consider: LORD, test and try me. Take a look under my hood. Go ahead. I want my life to continue to be built around reliance on Your love and Your faithfulness. These are the secrets of my confidence to face anything in life. Amen.
