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the confidence plan - Part 1 Days 1 - 20
Day 1: Jeremiah 17: 7
Devotional
Day 1 | The Right Kind of Confidence
Reflection
Most of us would love to grow in faith-confidence. We know it’s important – a lack of confidence can hold us back from living full and fruitful lives as Christians.
But it often seems easier to have confidence on Sunday if we’re gathered with other Christians. Confidence is harder to muster on Monday, in the everyday places where we meet those who don’t follow Jesus – our ‘frontlines’. It’s easier to sing a little louder than to live a little bolder.
In this devotional series, we’ll explore six ways we can grow our confidence, looking at each for six days. Starting tomorrow, we’ll consider how our confidence grows when:
- we are convinced in our faith
- we have the support of community
- we are driven by compassion
- we have consistent patterns for spiritual formation
- we feel competent and know God is with us
- we find resolute courage, despite our nervousness
The confidence we’re pointing to in this series is never just self-confidence. Mark Greene, LICC’s Mission Champion often says, ‘Confidence is drawn from many a well, but they all have their source in Christ.’
Today’s passage, Jeremiah 17:7, links confidence with trust. As we increasingly learn to trust God, our confidence in Him grows. If we have confidence in Him, we have the confidence we need.
Day 2: Romans 8: 38-39
Devotional
Day 2 | Good Reasons to be Convinced
Reflection
Yesterday, we introduced six things that help grow our confidence as whole-life disciples: being convinced, community, compassion, consistency, competence, and courage.
For the next six days, we’ll look at the first one: confidence through being convinced. Knowing why we are convinced in our faith is the vital key to being confident.
Look at Romans 8:38-39 again. It has the most comprehensive list imaginable of things that cannot separate us from the love of God. Honestly, is there any major life event or concern not covered in the list?
I can mentally list my concerns and uncertainties and compare them with the categories in these verses: issues of life or death, including health concerns, ‘spiritual’ matters, things that may or may not happen today or tomorrow, people with power and authority… they’re all covered in these verses. In fact, when I think up any other concern, it’s surely covered by the catch-all, ‘neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation’.
As we grow to accept that none of these things can take away the love of God, our confidence grows. It builds up our hearts and breaks down our concerns. There is a prayerful and powerful chain reaction here: the more we consider the love of God, the more convinced we are of it; and the more convinced we are, the more confident we are.
Today, in whatever you do, wherever you are, God’s love is stronger than your hassles, uncertainties, and worries. The love of God wins.
Day 3: Luke 24: 36-39
Devotional
Day 3 | What Would Convince You?
Reflection
On the few occasions I’ve abseiled, I’ve discovered I tend to like having something to hold on to. And I don’t just mean the rope. I need to hold onto some facts.
So, I’ll quietly establish that the instructor has done this before (successfully!). I’ll jokingly ask about the weight-bearing tolerance of the rope – if the rope could hold a small car, that’s reassuring. I’ll glance over at the anchor points and confirm they look secure.
If all these points look positive, then I’m good to go. Especially if I’ve seen others go first. I might even enjoy it! My confidence grows as the facts stack up. None of these personal checks give me 100% security, of course, but they help convince me.
In Luke 24:36–39, the risen Jesus recognises His disciples’ need to be convinced. He spent time with them after the resurrection. His presence brought reassurance and confirmed that He truly had been risen from the dead – and therefore confirmed everything else He had said was true as well.
Today the evidence for the resurrection is my favourite go-to place to be convinced, and in turn, to be confident. Those first disciples went ahead of the rest of us. They continued their discipleship in the light of their encounter with the risen Jesus. The fact that so many of them were prepared to pay the ultimate price for their faith adds significantly to my confidence.
What helps you to be convinced? What facts do you hold on to in Scripture? In your own life? In others’ lives?
Day 4: 2 Corinthians 1: 8-11
Day 4 | Remembering to be Convinced
Reflection
You snap awake. Must be time to get up. You check your phone. 4:30. You’re thinking about that meeting today… and there’s no chance of drifting back off now.
Yet by the end of the day, you’re eating dinner and telling a friend or family member how ‘it went really well, actually’. God had been with you.
How often this is the case! How often we have a challenge before us, a task to accomplish, something to create: a school project, an ad campaign, a new kitchen – and God helps us do it. If we were more mindful of how God has been with us in the past, would we not have greater confidence to face the challenges that lie before us each day?
Paul and his friends went through something terrible, far beyond their own ability to endure. It was so bad, they thought they were going to die. And yet God brought them through. It was an experience Paul could look back on with thanksgiving and take forward with confidence – confidence that God would continue to be with him.
How many times has God shown His faithfulness to you? How might that help you be more confident with whatever you face today?
Day 5: Jeremiah 1: 17-19
Day 5 | A Convincing Call
Reflection
You hardly need to be ‘a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall’ to live out an easy calling. But Jeremiah’s calling was not an easy gig: to confront the complacent and call out the conceited. He was beaten up, locked up, and told to shut up. What gave him the courage and confidence to keep going?
At least part of the answer is that surely, he was convinced God had called him.
You too are called by God. You are called to love God and love those around you (Mark 12:29–31). You are called to ‘the obedience that comes from faith’, and you are ‘among those called to belong to Jesus Christ’ (Romans 1:5–6). And as Paul reminded the Corinthians, whatever circumstances and situations they found themselves in, that was where God had called them to be (1 Corinthians 7:17–24).
Wherever you might be today, it’s no mistake. God has called you to be there. And not just to exist there, to scrape by, but to follow Him there, be formed there, and bear fruit there.
Day 6: Genesis 1: 31, Revelation 22: 3-5
Devotional
Day 6 | Convinced by the Big Picture
Reflection
We can excel at focussing on the details of life: I need to buy bananas, and I must pick up Prisha from the station at 5:40. This ability keeps us out of trouble.
Something that comes less naturally to many of us, though, is zooming out to see the bigger picture so that the details of life make sense. As Christians, there’s a big picture we really need to see – a big story that can grow our confidence.
In the beginning, a very good God creates a very good world. When we read the first two chapters of Genesis, we see how life is supposed to be: harmonious, exciting, rich, and beautiful. And then in the closing chapters of Revelation, we see where it’s all heading: we will once again dwell in unbroken and untainted relationship with God, with other people, and with creation. Thank you, Jesus!
When we know the beginning and the end, it helps us live better – more confidently – in the middle. We know that the brokenness, the wrongness, is not how it’s supposed to be, and it’s not ultimately how it will end.
Here’s how it might look in practice. Imagine you’re picking up your kids from school, or you’re in the break area, or at spin class. There’s someone who is always on the fringes; nobody really talks to them. Meanwhile, you’re comfortable in your group of friends.
But you remember Genesis, and you know the beginning of God’s story: that it’s not good for this person to be alone. And you know where God’s story ends up: through faith in Christ, people live forever in the warmth and joy of God’s family. Seeing the big story helps you see how you might act in this moment, and how it matters. It gives you confidence to show love to that person right now.
What story will you live in today?
Day 7: 1 Corinthians 15: 58
Devotional
Day 7 | Greg’s Story: Convincing Truth
Reflection
Greg used to work as an environmental consultant in the marine aggregates industry. What is that, you ask? Well, big companies want to dredge the seabed to get gravel for the construction industry. But before they can start, they are legally required to do an environmental impact assessment, to protect sea life. Enter Greg, stage left.
Now, at one point in Greg’s career, certain companies wanted to extract an almost inconceivable quantity of gravel from a new area of the ocean floor. To be allowed to proceed smoothly, they needed evidence from assessments and monitoring to suggest the impact on marine life was minimal. So, they interpreted the data to suggest there was minimal impact. But Greg, looking at the same data and using robust analysis, could see this was clearly not the case.
Greg knew this habitat for sea creatures had lain undisturbed for thousands of years. And he had evidence from earlier trials to underpin his conclusions that dredging would harm fish and shellfish. So Greg refused to go along with the companies’ greenwash and published his interpretation of the data publicly. This obviously made a lot of people very unhappy. Greg stood firm, but it wasn’t easy. The stress and long hours fighting to publish the truth took a toll on him and his family. In the end, he lost his job.
So, what helped him remain confident and to keep going? Conviction. A conviction that God had called him (and, in fact, all humans) to steward creation well. A conviction that God is a God of truth, who calls us to be truthful. A conviction that God had put him in that role to make a difference.
Whatever our frontlines are like, we all need courage there: courage to live well, to bless others, to be truthful, and to be open about our faith in Jesus.
Day 8: John 13: 34
Devotional
Day 8 | You Are Not Alone
Reflection
Part of the reason we can lack confidence out in the world is that we can feel more alone there, in our scattered places. So part of how we build confidence out in the world is by knowing that we are not alone there.
We have Jesus’ promise to be with us always, wherever we find ourselves. We have the Holy Spirit as an advocate and comforter alongside us. We know God the Father is Lord of every place – including wherever we are today. And sometimes there are other Christians around too if we search for them.
The more we obey this command to love and support one another in the same way Jesus loves us, the less lonely it feels. We can help confidence grow in others and they can help it to grow in us.
Our confidence grows if we know we have loving and prayerful backup support. Our resolve grows if we ask for prayer to be bolder with a tricky situation and we know a Christian friend will ask how we got on. If a Christian friend happens to send a timely, encouraging WhatsApp assuring me of their prayers, I’m reminded that I’m not alone. Is there someone you could text today to encourage?
Day 9: Philippians 2: 14-16
Devotional
Day 9 | The Loneliness of the Scattered Red Dot
Reflection
At LICC, we often describe life as a Christian in the UK with two images, both depicting 100 dots. Six dots are red, depicting the 6% of people in the UK who go to church at least once a month. The rest are grey, depicting those who don’t.
In the first image, the red dots are gathered in a block next to each other.
In the second, they’re scattered like stars in the sky, each surrounded by grey dots.
When we think of our mission as Christians, we often see ourselves as the red dots gathered in a clump, hoping to influence the grey dots nearest to us. But in truth, the scattered dots show the situation we’re in most of the time: outside the church program, on our own – but making contact with so many more grey dots.
We might be the only disciple of Jesus on our frontline: at home, with our friends and local communities; in our workplaces in education, government, sports, healthcare, media, arts, entertainment; in business and beyond. In those places, we might feel alone, and our confidence might be in shorter supply.
But what if we can grow confidence when we’re gathered and then use that confidence when we’re scattered?
When we gather as worshippers we sing, pray, read the Bible, learn, encourage one another, and more. We remind ourselves that we have a very particular story about the world to tell – and that we’re in a culture that will often not believe our story.
Paul’s letter to the Philippians was read out loud to the church gathered in Philippi so that they might hold firmly to the word of life and shine when scattered. We gather to bring glory to God but also to encourage one another to have confidence when we are scattered.
Day 10: Hebrews 3: 13-14
Devotional
Day 10 | Confidence Grows with Encouragement
Reflection
Today and every day we are called to find ways to encourage one another. When we do this, we achieve more than growing confidence in others – we so often gain confidence ourselves in the process.
The Greek word parakaleó, translated into English as encourage in Hebrews 3:13, is a compound of the words ‘para’ and ‘kaleo.’ Para involves ‘coming alongside’. Kaleo implies ‘beckoning’ and ‘calling to action’.
Together, these two words add up to being close beside someone, assuring them they’re not alone and urging them to do the right thing for God each day.
The wider context of this verse recognises that life has many other pressures and temptations. Perhaps that’s why we should encourage one another daily rather than just occasionally! These verses call on every one of us to call on each other – to keep going and to hold on to our convictions.
Day 11: Proverbs 27: 17
Devotional
Day 11 | ‘I Wish I Had Your Confidence’
Reflection
There is something attractive and evangelistically powerful when we see godly confidence at work.
We can learn a lot about confidence from our Christian friends, but they have to be willing to share their secrets! And they might not even know they have confidence secrets until they share their story.
Not all confidence is worth copying, of course. There’s a type of confidence edging towards arrogance, and to be avoided; but when we see confidence combined with kindness and humility, we should delve a little deeper and ask some questions.
When I see godly confidence in action and ask a friend about it, they might generally answer with a self-effacing ‘I don’t know really…’ But if I pursue the question beyond their modesty, as they think it through and respond there are often some gems.
Here are some real-life examples:
‘I told myself that there was no one else to speak up for justice at the moment, so I’d better have a go!’
‘When I prayed, I don’t know what happened, but a calmness came to me.’
‘I’m glad I looked confident – I wasn’t, but I’ve learned that when I go for it whilst feeling nervous, God meets me more than halfway.’
‘I realised the consequences for not speaking up were worse than speaking out.’
‘I remembered a Bible reading from earlier in the week, calling Joshua to be bold, and somehow that helped.’
Day 12: Mark 14: 32-37
Devotional
Day 12 | The Porcupine’s Problem
Reflection
It’s probably not the most flattering thing you’ve ever been compared to, but German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer says you’re a bit like a porcupine. You feel cold and isolated when you aren’t in close proximity to others. Yet, when you do get close, you hurt them with your spikes, and they hurt you with theirs. And so, as humans, we live with this tension. We desire to be close to people and yet want to protect ourselves from them.
Whether we recognise it or not, we need friends. And if we don’t have friends – as in, proper friends – it’s okay to want them. And if we are sometimes disappointed with the friends we do have, that’s okay too. After all, Jesus had friends, He wanted to have friends, and on more than one occasion, His friends let him down. In the garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus was staring into the whites of death’s eyes when He needed His friends most, they were falling asleep.
If genuine community and real friendship are a key component of confidence, there’s something we need to do. We need to build proper relationships – relationships where we can give and receive prayer, encouragement, and support for frontline living. Maybe that means building on existing relationships; maybe it means connecting with new people. We might spike and get spiked, but it’s not good for us to be alone.
Who might God be prompting you to message today; to connect with, maybe to arrange a meet-up? If there isn’t anyone, keep praying.
Day 13: 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Devotional
Day 13 | Deborah and Joy’s story: Encouraged by Community
Reflection
Over the past few days, we’ve been thinking about how we can draw confidence from one another. Here’s how it looked for Deborah and Joy. They met through church and were part of the same small group, but they had quite different frontlines – places where they regularly spent time, building relationships with non-Christians.
Deborah’s primary frontline was her local gym. It was a nice gym – not one of those places people go to build their egos in tandem with their muscles. But still, it was a place where she wanted to be confident – confident to strike up conversations with others, confident to go beyond the surface, confident in blessing the staff and her fellow fitness fanatics.
Joy’s main frontline was quite different: a rather gossipy health clinic. Here, Joy needed confidence not to get drawn into the all-too-frequent backbiting, and confidence to help wounded and warring colleagues take steps toward healing and peace.
As well as catching up before or after services, and as well as studying the Bible, sharing, and praying together in their small group, Deborah and Joy would WhatsApp each other at different points in the day. They’d share verses of encouragement, update each other on how situations were going, request prayer, share prayers, and generally help each other keep going. By the grace of God, it was a friendship that grew their confidence for their frontlines.
By the grace of God, day by day, Deborah made a difference at the gym. And by the grace of God, Joy made a difference in the clinic. Who might be your Deborah? And to whom might you be a Joy?
Day 14: Hebrews 12: 1-3
Devotional
Day 14 | Compassion Keeps Going
Reflection
Not all emotions are equal. Compassion trumps a lack of confidence.
Picture a parent who will stop at nothing to protect their child – even if it means placing themselves in danger. When we look at the conflict in Ukraine, we see compassion driving so many people to protect and provide for loved ones when there would be many reasons to lack confidence.
Jesus endured the cross ‘for the joy set before Him’. This phrase could mean a few different things, but they all sound like compassion at work. Jesus may have been seeing ahead to God the Father’s delight. If so, the love and compassion within the Trinity wins.
The joy set before Jesus may well have been you. His compassion for you, and all those He would save, driving Him forward to endure the cross. Some suggest ‘for the joy’ could be translated ‘in exchange for the joy’. In this case, Jesus chose to forgo the joy that was eternally His to lower Himself to earth on His saving mission. Why would He do this? Because of His love and compassion.
Whenever I allow my love and compassion for others to grow, it can win over a lack of confidence. The more I fix my eyes on Jesus – a phrase that implies choosing to focus on Jesus when other things might distract us – the more my compassion for others grows too. To put it another way, I find enough confidence to do the right thing because I have too much compassion for others not to.
Day 15: Jeremiah: 38: 11-13
Devotional
Day 15 | Compassion with Old Rags
Reflection
Who would think of rope burn at a time like this?
It took a special kind of confidence for Ebed-Melek to rescue Jeremiah from the miry pit. And it took a special kind of compassion to consider Jeremiah’s armpits and provide rags and worn-out clothes!
Jeremiah’s words were always going to land him in trouble. But he had some backup when he was in desperate need. When Jeremiah found himself abandoned in a cistern, Ebed-Melek risked his own personal safety to plead Jeremiah’s case to the King. Then, he risked his own personal safety to rescue Jeremiah himself. And, in the midst of danger, he still thought of the little things. Ebed-Melek is the kind of practical and compassionate friend we all need – it’s possible that not everyone around the palace would even know that rope could burn!
The next chapter confirms that it was Ebed-Melek’s trust in the Lord that motivated him (Jeremiah 39:18), but this passage (Jeremiah 38:11–13) beautifully shows his courage and compassion working together. Later, Ebed-Melek himself is saved by the Lord as a result of his actions – an original rags-to-riches story. But he surely wasn’t thinking of himself at the time he acted bravely and with compassion.
The winning combination of trust in God and kindness for another person gave him enough confidence to do the right thing in the right way.
Day 16: 23: 6
Devotional
Day 16 | Kindness and Compassion
Reflection
You’re probably familiar with Psalm 23 – it starts ‘The Lord is my shepherd…’. So you’ll know it mentions tough situations: ‘Even though I walk through the darkest valley’. But it also settles with quiet confidence.
Here, in the last verse, confidence is expressed as its author David reflects deeply on God in all his circumstances. He describes God as our Shepherd, as the One who is with us always, and the One whose goodness and love follow us to the very end.
We are truly blessed by these characteristics of God, but we are also blessed to be a blessing. God’s presence should rub off on us, shouldn’t it? The psalm says there is assurance that God’s goodness and love will follow me – will follow you – every day. Surely, part of the divine plan here is not just that we receive goodness and love, but that we pass it on, in the places we find ourselves daily, too.
The Old Testament word used for love in verse 6, hesed, is rich in meaning. It’s helpful for us to remember where this hesed originates. The main use of the word is as a description of God’s feelings toward His people. This characteristic is at the heart of our God, sometimes translated as mercy, sometimes love, and at other times loving-kindness.
We’ve used the word compassion as a driving force for confidence, but loving-kindness is surely a good description of what we’re getting at. Today, we take strength from knowing that we, first, receive this compassion. It comes to us freely each day.
As we go out into the world, whenever we display compassion or loving kindness, we are passing on what we have received. We are copying a characteristic of our God.
Day 17: 2 Corinthians: 5: 14
Devotional
Day 17 | Compelled by Love
Reflection
You know that moment when you mark the sign of the cross on the forehead of a confused 14-year-old with toothpaste? Come on, we’ve all been there.
No? OK, let me explain.
It’s fair to say the apostle Paul was sometimes viewed as… how shall we put it? ‘Different’. He did things that were a little odd. Travelling around, telling people to dedicate their lives to worshiping this young man who’d been executed by the government in some random country – regularly getting beaten up in the process. There wasn’t even money in it, for goodness’ sake!
Yet he and his band of friends continued. They remained confident. Why? Because the love of Christ compelled them. Paul & Co were so mightily aware of the love Christ had for them and for all people, it was like that love was squeezing them. Not the kind of squeezing that leaves you squashed, but a squeezing that forces action – a compelling squeeze. Like a tube of toothpaste: as your thumb and forefinger compress the tube, the toothpaste is compelled through the narrow opening onto the bristles of your brush.
That’s the reason I anointed a group of teenagers with Sensodyne; to emphasize how the love of Jesus is what propels our life of action.
They live in a world that is complex, sometimes scary, yet filled with kingdom opportunity. Each day when they’re at school, hanging out with mates, or playing Fortnite, experiencing God’s love means they can show love to their friends, and to those who aren’t in their group. They can make good choices, choices which might differ from their peers’. They can be open about the fact they’re Christians, rather than keeping it secret.
To do this, they need confidence. They need the compelling love of Christ. Don’t we all?
Day 18: 1 Samuel 20: 4
Devotional
Day 18 | Love Wins
Reflection
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a train more packed than it was that day – basically a tin of sardines on wheels. And the sardines were massive. Most of the passengers were on their way to a rugby match and looked like they could more than hold their own in a scrum.
At the next stop, when the doors opened, no fresh light or air flowed in. The doorway was blocked by five of the largest humans God has ever made. Waiting to get on the train, on the other side of this wall of muscle, was a woman with a pushchair. I’m thinking, ‘No chance!’
‘Move out of the way,’ she berated the giants. Twenty seconds later, with the laws of physics broken, this mother and her child were in the carriage, on their way home. I wondered to myself, ‘Is this lady just freakishly confident, or is it the love she has for her child that helped her just then?’
Love for another can do crazy things. In 1 Samuel 20, Jonathan, the crown prince of Israel, loved his friend David so much that he was willing to commit treason by helping David escape the country – because the king was trying to kill him. Jonathan remained confident in a situation where he had so much to lose: his family, his influence, his position, and even his life.
We all have situations on our frontlines for which we need confidence. Sometimes a source of confidence might be found in the love we have, and the love God gives us, for the people around us. Maybe we’ll find ourselves loving people so much we care more about doing what’s good for them, and less about what people might think of us.
Day 19: Matthew 9: 36
Devotional
Day 19 | Brad’s Story: Compassion in the Aisles
Reflection
It was an unplanned visit to Sainsbury’s. As Brad went to get a bottle of water, he noticed his old mate Simon looking at the cucumbers.
‘Fancy seeing you here! How’s it going?’
As they caught up, Brad asked how Sam, Simon’s wife, was doing. Simon looked down at his basket.
‘She’s not in a good way to be honest, mate. She’s here. She’s just waiting in the café while I get a few bits’.
Brad knew Sam fairly well.
‘Alright, I’ll go and give her a little scare,’ smiled Brad, and Simon resumed his shop.
As Brad scanned the café, he noticed a solitary figure hunched over a coffee. She was in tears, a shivering wreck. It was Sam.
‘Hiya, Sam. Are you alright?,’ Brad enquired, as he gave her a side-hug, before sliding into the chair opposite. He’d never seen her like this: a shadow of her former self. They spoke for a few minutes before Simon joined them.
Simon explained how Sam had recently been diagnosed with PTSD. Brad’s heart ached. He tried his best to find words that might bring some comfort, some hope. As the three of them stood up to say goodbye, Brad – who had only been a Christian for a matter of months – offered to do something he’d never done for anyone before:
‘Do you mind if I pray with you?’
Perhaps it was the compassion he felt seeing them suffer. Perhaps it was the conversations his small group had had about confidence. It was probably a combination of both. His friends looked at him with surprised smiles.
‘Yeah… OK.’
And so right there, in the supermarket café, Brad embraced his two old friends. As they hugged, he prayed to his heavenly Father, that these friends would experience God’s healing love and presence in their lives.
Later that day, Brad had a text: ‘That was just what we needed. Thank you.’
Day 20: Luke 5: 16
Devotional
Day 20 | Practice, Practice, Practice
Reflection
When it comes to taking high-pressure penalty kicks, you look for the players with confidence. At least that’s what I’ve heard many football managers say.
Part of their confidence or lack of confidence may be down to a person’s character, but a big factor is also consistent practice. You step up to the penalty having practised many, many times in training. Consistency helps confidence or, at the very least, consistency reduces nervousness!
The first disciples learned consistency from following Jesus’ patterns and copying Him. Luke uses the word often to describe Jesus’ pattern of quiet time and prayer.
When Jesus Himself needs confidence in facing His own journey to the cross, He doesn’t need to invent a new way of bringing His situation to his Father. At Gethsemane, when He tells His disciples to ‘sit here while I go over there and pray’ (Matthew 26:36), He is staying true to His consistent patterns. It’s not a new thing at that point for Him to withdraw to lonely places and pray.
Surely Jesus’ habit of consistent time with the Father helped Him face the future with confidence. How can you apply this to your life this week?
Part 2 coming soon
