Thoughts in Worship

Message Magazine's Online Devotional for Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Today’s Scripture Promise:

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” (Philippians 1:6).

Today’s Observation:

Confidence is hard to come by. Yes, it is true that there are so many among us who seem overly confident and pompous, but the reality is that many of those people are actually overcompensating. They are covering up the fact that they are very needy and vulnerable with the bravado of purported confidence.

Genuine confidence is a rare commodity. When you know you’ve done nothing wrong in a relationship and the other party accuses you of wrongdoing, are you confident that your name will be cleared? When you have little money in the bank and the mortgage or rent is due, do you feel confident that you will still have somewhere to live? When you have stage-four cancer, do you have confidence that the Lord will be with you while you fight for your life? Do you have confidence that God is listening to your prayers when it seems He is not giving you what you want? As I said, confidence is hard to come by.

What if our confidence is rested squarely upon the shoulders of Almighty God (blessed be His name)? What if we surrender our entire lives, with our inadequacies and perceived adequacies? What if we submit our sinful selves to Him in exchange for His holiness? Can we be confident then? Can we be confident that He will keep our souls safe until He comes? If we trust Him fully we can. The key to confidence that will stand the test of time is to place all we are, and all we have into God’s care. He has promised that if we do just that, He will preserve us until He comes.

Today’s Marching Orders:

Ask God for confidence in His promises no matter how you feel. Ask Him to give you faith to believe that He will keep you in His care.—L. David Harris (www.DavidWritesaLot.com)