TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY JUNE 26,
2013.
CONFIDENCE
DEFINITION:
Sure of oneself and one's abilities,
correctness or likelihood of success; being sure of something without doubt,
belief in the trustworthiness or reliability of someone or something.
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 anyone. One of the reasons for
this is that in today's society situations can change daily. For example a job
that seemed secure two years ago can be lost overnight. Homes are going into
foreclosure at a very fast rate.
Sadly, family is no longer a priority in
many homes and as a result many families are falling apart. That is why we said
above that one cannot even be confident today about any one person, even those
in your family.
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. The verse from Proverbs (above) assures us that when we have
confidence in the Lord, He will guide every step we take in life.
The scripture tells us that God had
enabled the Children of Israel to easily overcome the city of Jericho. Because
of this so called easy victory Joshua set about to conquer the city of Ai. Ai
was strategically located to provide for the Children of Israel a foothold in
the central highlands 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. They did not consult God about taking
the city of Ai. They rushed head long into battle relying on their own
strength. The second 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 brought down by the men at Ai. They were so
grieved over the loss that they tore their clothes in mourning and 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, like Israel, we have been defeated and our problems become
overwhelming.
There is a better way for us to be
confident in living our lives. We must begin every day by getting ourselves
prepared spiritually for that day. 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, not
only in our down and out times, but in our good times. Consulting God when
everything is running along smoothly will keep us from bringing on problems for
ourselves.
When was the last time you consulted God
on anything? Now might be a good time to start. A little time spent consulting
God can save us from mistakes that will be very costly to us.
There was a three year difference in age
between two of our sons. Whatever the oldest did the youngest was confident he
could do as well. The older one had been driving for a while. It looked easy
enough so the younger son decided he wanted to try to drive a car. Fortunately
it was in a parking lot but he made the mistake of hitting the gas pedal when
he wanted the brake. He sideswiped a tree putting a dent in the side of the
car. It not only made an impression on the car but a deep impression on him. He
was not as competent in his abilities as he assumed he was and learned that
preparation was key to gaining confidence in all that he did. In life we all
learn by mistakes which serve to remind us not to be over confident in
ourselves.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found
in Genesis 1:1.
In the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth.
PRAYER:
Lord help me to put my confidence in You
and to learn to consult You for the direction and guidance I need in my life in
both the good times and the bad times. Forgive me for my mistakes and help me
to learn from them. Help my children to see, by the way I live my life, that
they should not rely on themselves but seek God's help in all that they do.
