May 2023
by DeQuana Quarles

In whom does your confidence lie?

The Holy Spirit has brought something to my attention that I can't shake: the rise of self-confidence. It's everywhere; this movement of empowering self. I've even noticed that the message of self-confidence is spreading rampant in the church (the Body of Christ). And admittedly, even I started telling myself, "You should believe in yourself more." Seems harmless, right? Wrong! I believe self-confidence to be a cunning device of the enemy that gets people to [unknowingly] exalt themselves, and I want to explain how.

I realize now that our ignorance gives the enemy an advantage; we can't understand his tactic without understanding how he forms his weapons, and in this case, it is through word manipulation. Confidence is the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something; firm trust. Therefore to be confident in something or someone, you trust, believe, and have faith in them/it. Self-confidence is confidence in oneself and one's powers and abilities. Its synonyms are self-assurance, self-reliance, self-possession, etc. It identifies the 'self' as the trustworthy source, the 'it' you trust, believe, and have faith in.

While writing this newsletter, the Holy Spirit reminded me of Moses. In Exodus 3-4, God called Moses to lead His people out of Egypt; this was Moses' first [personal] encounter with the God of Israel since he wasn't raised with the Israelites, though he was part of the bloodline(see Exodus 2). And understandably, Moses responded to God's call with insecurity, but God met his fear with assurance and instruction. You see, Moses was rejecting the call because he was judging his worthiness and effectiveness based on his self-confidence; however, God was assuring him that all would be well because of His confidence in Himself, in His powers and abilities- God introduced Himself as the Omnipotent (All-Powerful, Almighty, and Supreme) One who has unlimited power and unheard of abilities. He is the only one with the right to reserve self-confidence!

Confidence misplaced is dangerous for Believers. It's like a white flag surrendering to the enemy. We give up our peace, joy, hope, and assurance, the things the enemy comes to kill, steal, and destroy. Psalm 118:8 says, "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man"; well, 'man' means mankind and, or human beings, and it includes ourselves. Let's not be deceived and believe that self-confidence is a pre-requisite for Believers; however, confidence [firm trust, faith, and belief] in God Our Father is the requirement. 

Does that mean I'm telling you to walk around beating yourself up? On the contrary, I urge you to seal your confidence in God as His Word instructs us. Affirm yourself in the truth about who God Our Father is, what He has promised, and what He speaks concerning us. Go forth with confidence [trust, faith, and belief] in God and turn away from the temptation to be self-assuring, self-reliant, self-possessing, and self-confident; that was never His plan for His family. 

Upcoming Calendar Events