Quiet Confidence
by Peter Brokaar
As my kids are now teenagers and having to navigate the treacherous waters of those challenging years, I am thinking back to my own school days. For many of us these were difficult years where we wondered if we were cool enough, where we strived to portray a confidence that we didn’t really feel, and where we were sometimes painfully self-conscious. These feelings fade as we mature, and sometimes I wish I could travel back in time to my younger self and tell him, “It’s good to be you!”
It’s a goal in our Christian lives to become more like Jesus, more like Him in holiness, obedience, love, compassion, for sure. But what about having a Jesus-like confidence? Is that something we have ever reached for?
Jesus is amazing. I would say He had to be the most confident person that ever lived. He knew what He was about. No-one pushed Jesus around. He never wavered from His path. I imagine that everyone around Him sensed He marched to the beat of a different drum and didn’t feel any need to impress the cool kids. That kind of godly confidence is incredibly attractive.
(As a side note, I am also guessing that it’s one of the things that drove the religious leaders crazy. They couldn’t control Him and, unlike them, He had a magnetic effect on the people around Him. He posed a real danger to their power and influence. They eventually went mad with envy, and plotted to kill Him, though He had done nothing wrong.)
Jesus’s confidence lay in His total belief of what the Father thought of Him. Once the Father’s thoughts towards us are embedded in our hearts, we no longer crave the approval of others. Lack of true, godly confidence can lead us into all sorts of troubles and temptations. Nothing good is gained by having a dim view of ourselves. It might be the one area God wants to touch you in today.
It is our calling to become more like Jesus, to learn to walk as He did. It’s real confidence, with no need for arrogance, pretence, or putting others down. We need God’s opinion of us embedded in our hearts. This has to be something the Holy Spirit is keen to help us with, so we can ask Him for it.
Peter Brokaar is Director of Ellel Ministries Scotland and has been there together with his wife Liz since 2005. They have 3 kids, all born in Scotland! In his free time he likes reading, cooking, running and surfing. Being at Ellel Scotland has given him the privilege of getting to know God deeper and sharing that joy with many others.
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