Before writing this post, I did an internet search on “famous people who dealt lacking self-confidence.” Boy, was that an eye-opener. Pulitzer Prize-winning American author John Steinbeck felt like an imposter when others praised his work. Artist Leonardo Da Vinci was known for abandoning projects when he thought he was falling short. Actress Jennifer Lopez admits to suffering with self-esteem issues ever since she was young.
Superstar musicians, famous actors, political leaders, killer athletes… So many people we admire every day began their careers lacking self-confidence.
The list would have been much shorter if I’d searched “famous people who have never had low self-esteem.”
Do you want to be completely confident in your own weak humanity?
What about you? Are you lacking self-confidence? Do you let your peers push you around and decide your value? Are you afraid to try something new out of the worry that you’ll fail or look like a fool? Do you feel inadequate compared to the world’s view on body image, intelligence or ability?
Me too. But before we throw a pity party for ourselves, take a moment to consider whether self-confidence is really what you want. Do you want to be completely confident in your own weak humanity? Or would you rather have confidence in the One who truly can conquer anything?
You don’t have to have all the answers.
But, hey, why not?
Bring me your questions about faith, life, God, the Bible… and I’ll help you find the answers.
In This Article
When Self-Confidence Turns Deadly
What if David, merely a boy at the time, had approached Goliath with self-confidence?
“Yeah, I’m gonna slay me a giant! Bring it on!”
Who are we kidding? David went up against a human behemoth with a stone. It doesn’t matter that he was a killer shot with the slingshot. The only reason Goliath died that day was because God wanted him to—and David knew that:
“You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands…”
1 Samual 17:45-46
There is no self-confidence in that statement, it’s all confidence in God. God allowed David to be an important participant in Goliath’s fall, but it was still God who worked it. I guarantee if David had carried an air of self-confidence that day, the outcome would have been drastically different.
What Goliaths are you trying to slay with a meager stone?
Seek God-Confidence
The confidence you should seek is not confidence in yourself, but confidence in who you are because you belong to Jesus, and what he can do through you. Seeking pure self-confidence—that is, confidence in only yourself—is like choosing a swinging bridge with fraying ropes and cracked boards to cross a thousand-foot gorge.
God-confidence, on the other hand, is the solid, steel suspension bridge next to it.
Which would you rather put your trust in?
The coolest thing about God-confidence is that you no longer need to fear failure or making a fool of yourself. You can fall knowing he’ll catch you before you hit the ground—and usually turn it into something beautiful.
Bible Verses That Build God-confidence
So now that you know what kind of confidence you need, let me show you where to find it. The Bible is stuffed with verses to help build confidence in the right source, but here are a few:
- The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. -Psalm 27:1, 3
- Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
- Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. -Psalm 42:5
- Romans 8:31-39
- “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” -Jeremiah 17:7-8
Don’t fret if you are lacking self-confidence. Put your confidence in God and his work in you.
“On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”
from the hymn “My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less”
Trusting in God and in his Word never fails. So thankful to have our Savior Jesus as our solid Rock as we journey through life here and eternally forever. Thank you, Lauren. Another encouraging writing on the One we can always trust.
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