Confidence

"So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised."  Hebrews 10:35-36


Do not throw away your confidence.  That is just such a booster to read this morning.  It made me think.  It made me think of all those times, where we're talking with someone and they cause us to question our faith in God.

An example?

Every year at Andy's lay-off time, we get to let everyone know that we're not worried, because God will provide for us while he's not working.  And every year, we get those looks.  Those looks of, yeah right, whatever you say.  For the most part we remain confident in God and that He'll carry us through, but every once in a while, while we're in one of those conversations, we start to maybe doubt a little.  As the other person inquires if all our bills are paid in full each month, our confidence wanes. Well, no they're not, but they're paid enough to keep the utilities going.  As someone asks if we'd like to join them for a dinner out, our confidence drops a little.  Sorry, we really can't afford that right now. And they ask why not- they thought God was taking care of us.

It's the little things that make you question.  Are we foolish to rely on God every year at this time?  Is there something more that we could be doing ourselves- should I go get a part time job to get us through the holiday season?  Should Andy be looking for a new job so he doesn't get laid off every winter?  Or someone will mention Job in the Bible, and we start to doubt a little, thinking of how he lost everything...how low would God let us get? 

But the reality is that we have a loving and gracious God, and money is nothing to Him.  Seeing that our family is fed, and clothed, and has a roof over our head truly is a piece of cake for the God of the universe.   And you know what He's doing this year?  The lay-off time has not even arrived yet, and all kinds of options are coming in- including the potential for an extended work year within his company.  Andy's got several weeks of work left and when that work is done, he has all kinds of options for ways to earn money to pay the bills and put food on the table.  How awesome is God!   I am so grateful to Him for placing all these opportunities in front of Andy before he gets laid off, because it is so encouraging to us.  We don't have to look at the calendar and worry about how after such and such a date, there will be no more income, because God has already taken care of it.

He knows our needs before we need them. God puts things into motion before we can even fathom that we need them.    And knowing that, we know that our confidence is not misplaced. Our confidence is right where it needs to be- securely resting in Him.  Our confidence is not superficial- it's not confidence in ourselves to spend wisely or do the right things.  It's confidence that He will guide our every step, and He will care for His children.   Our confidence is already richly rewarded, as we rest securely in His divine will and protection.  We don't need any more reward than that.  Just to rest securely in the knowledge that He knows and cares for us- what could be better than that?  So hang onto that confidence that God loves you, cares for you, and will take care of your needs.  He comes through every single time.