Confidence: September 24, 2012

TODAYS WORD FOR MONDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2012.

CONFIDENCE

DEFINITION:

Firm trust; reliance; self assurance; boldness; faith or belief that one will act in a right, proper, or effective way.

SCRIPTURE:

For the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared. Proverbs 3:26.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

In today's society it is very difficult for a person to be confident about anything or anybody. One of the reasons for this is that situations can change daily. For example a job that seemed secure two years ago can be lost overnight today. Homes that were bought with confidence they could be paid for are going into foreclosure at a very fast rate.

The most serious issue is that families are falling apart. Fathers are abandoning their families. Sometimes it is even the mother that leaves. That is why we said above that one cannot even be confident today about any one person. The only way that a person can feel securely confident today is to have their confidence in the Lord and not in people and things. This verse from Proverbs assures us that when we have confidence in the Lord, He will guide us in the right way every step we take in life.

Today we will look at the Children of Israel’s misplaced confidence after they conquered Jericho (Joshua 3:9). God had enabled Israel to easily overcome the city of Jericho so Joshua set about to conquer the city of Ai. Ai was strategically located to provide a foothold in the central highlands for Israel and was the logical next step for Joshua to proceed to conquer the land that God had promised for them.

Joshua sent spies to Ai to check out the military strength of the city. The spies returned confident that the city of Ai could easily be taken by Israel. They advised Joshua that it would be so easy that they would not need their whole army. They said to Joshua, "Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary all the people, for only a few men are there." Joshua took their advice and sent three thousand men against Ai. To their surprise they were driven out by the men of Ai and thirty six of their men were killed.

Joshua and the elders of Israel had become too self-confident. How quickly they had forgotten that it was God who had given them the victory over Jericho. That was their first mistake. Secondly, they did not consult God about taking the city of Ai. They rushed head long into battle relying on their own strength. The third mistake was that they did not prepare themselves spiritually. They had already forgotten that before they undertook the battle of Jericho, God had required that they prepare themselves spiritually.

Joshua and the elders could not understand why they were so easily defeated by the men at Ai. They were so grieved over the loss that they tore their clothes in mourning, fell down on their faces and cried out to God asking what went wrong.

Most of us try to go about our daily routines confident in our own abilities to accomplish whatever we have to do. But for the most part it just does not work. We seldom seek God's help. We turn to God only when we have been defeated. There is a better way and that is for us to begin each day by getting ourselves prepared spiritually. Remember when you read the Bible; this is the way God speaks to you. When you pray; this is the way you speak to God. God wants us to put our confidence in Him and consult Him in all that we do. When was the last time you consulted God on anything? A little time spent consulting God can save us from mistakes that will be very costly to us.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in James 1:22.

But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

PRAYER:

Thank You, Lord, for the assurance we have from Your Word in Proverbs that when we put our confidence in You, You will not only guide us but You will keep us from being caught in a trap. Help me to guide my family to keep their eyes on You and not put their confidence in what is sure to fail them.