Hey, Sis! So, I’m still working on becoming the woman of my dreams. Today’s musing in my quiet time was about confidence and humility. There seems to be a narrow isthmus between the two upon which we must balance while walking out our God-given purpose. To wade into one side or the other can mean being lured away by undercurrents of false humility or pride which will surely lead to a fall. Or on the other side into self-abasement and low self-esteem which will be tantamount to trudging through mud with every step. How does one ?
The dichotomy between confidently knowing who you are and what your purpose is while still walking in humility makes me think of the teenage David. He was humble enough to be an errand boy for his father Jesse, bringing provisions to his older brothers on the front line. Yet, even as a youth, he had more confidence than the king’s army. Enough to not only know that he could take down Goliath but to also talk trash about it to the giant’s face. (Is it still called “trash talking” when you can back it up?)
It also reminds me of a piece that I wrote in 2005 for a column called Apples of Gold in the Tempo News in Sarasota. Enjoy!
Humility v. Confidence
Since watching the movie Coach Carter, one quote won’t stop reverberating in my heart almost daily – staring me in the face like an unyielding challenge.
“You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world…We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.”
My response has been ‘how?’ How does a broken human full of frailty and fear manifest the glory of an eternal, omniscient, magnificent God? Breath-taking in power and majesty, perfect in all His ways, and incomprehensible to even the most brilliant of mortals. The master Creator who formed not only the Earth in all of its intricacies and wonder but Who also fearfully and wonderfully fashioned me with purpose and intention to fulfill a role in His divine plan.
How does one, on one hand, confidently comprehend, embrace, and step into the fulness of that purpose while maintaining the humility that God requires on the other? How exactly does one walk down off the mountain after having gotten so close to, so intimate with that God that just the residue of the glory in which He dwells causes a reaction on your humanity? He is so foreign, so “other-than”, so holy that your face can’t help but glow at the remembrance His nearness. How do you walk in that and still be humble enough to be called the meekest man on the face of the Earth? Sure, Moses, the guy who pronounced plagues on the superpower of his day, parted the Red Sea and prayed manna down from heaven, he could do it. But I am – well, I am just me.
Despite my best excuses, the challenge did not yield. Instead I heard this.
Humility is not the opposite of confidence, it is the opposite of pride. Confidence does not challenge humility, self-confidence does.
Further, I was reminded of Philippians 4:13 –
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
In this one scripture, the Apostle Paul strikes the perfect balance of humility and confidence. The Apostle’s confidence is displayed by declaring that he can do all things. He can conquer whatever comes against him. No situation that presents itself, not shipwreck, imprisonment, beatings, or even snake bites can overcome him. Remember Paul telling the sailors, fearing for their lives during a storm, that if they stick with him in instead of abandoning the ship, they will live? In other words, he was saying, “This thing is slanted in my favor. I can’t lose!” That is confidence!
However, before concluding that thought he adds ‘through Christ…’ Although he can survive, endure, and do all things, he recognizes that it is only through Christ and for Christ’s purpose. He goes further to say ‘…who strengthens me.’ In this last phrase, the Apostle Paul acknowledges a fatal flaw that causes many who would walk in purpose to stumble. He acknowledges that he is weak and that in order for him to have the ability not only to do all things but to do anything, he is fully dependent on the strength of Christ.
Ok, so I admit it. This article’s title is click-bait – an eye-catching error. Confidence does not wage war with humility nor with God. In fact, the Apostle Paul admonishes us not to cast away our confidence (Heb 10:35). In it, he explains, there is great reward. That same “trash-talking” confidence of the teenage David is appropriate when you are walking in what God called you to do and boldly using your words to prophesy your victories. Embrace confidence and be as bold as a lion!
Just remember this…
Confidence is established by knowing who you are in God. Humility is perfected in knowing just as certainly who you are without Him.
So, Sis, fluff out that natural, touch up the lip gloss, and step back into those heels! We can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us – and I’m ready to topple some giants. You coming??
xo, Karen
