Confidence is a tricky thing.
I have a couple talks to give over the next couple weeks and I am a little nervous. It would be best if I could go in feeling and acting confident. I’m working on it.
But what does having real confidence mean?
I used to think that if I acted confident I was being the exact opposite of humble. After all, if I am truly humble, I should recognize that I’m not perfect and I do not know everything.
That’s true.
But recently, I have started to see that confidence, real confidence rests more in the belief that God loves me exactly as I am. It is not a belief that I am perfect or that I know everything. Instead, it is a belief that God loves me every second of every day, shortcomings and all.
Turns out, Thomas Merton agrees with me. He said “But the man who is not afraid to admit everything that he sees to be wrong with himself, and yet recognizes that he may be the object of God’s love precisely because of his shortcomings, can begin to be sincere. His sincerity is based on confidence, not in his own illusions about himself, but in the endless, unfailing mercy of God.”
How can you have confidence today, confidence rooted in the endless love and unfailing mercy of God?
For God says “Be not afraid, I am with you always.”
Have a fantastic Monday!
