The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Romans 16:20
How is your confidence? Is it strong or weak? Can I be honest, I don’t think I always have strong confidence. Especially when I am leaning into myself and not God. In fact, recently, I had low confidence in whether or not I was a good parent, all due to I could not afford things for them. Thank goodness the doctor was very understanding and reaffirmed to me that I am still a good parent and not to let this little thing bring me down. Is there a time in your life where you lack the confidence that you need? This can be in any area of your life: job, friends, community, talents, etc.
Let’s read Romans 15:14-22.
Fear and insecurities rob us. They steal our joy from us. As you read Romans 15: 14-22 what were some indicators of confidence in Paul’s life? How is confidence different from pride? What ambition did Paul have for his ministry? How do we know the difference between Godly goals and prideful ambition as we seek to live confidently in Christ?
Our confidence comes from God. Encouragement for others helps builds our confidence. With clarity, we also have confidence. Romans 15:4 says this, ‘For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures.’ How wonderful is God that he gave his Word to encourage us, so we can have confidence in Him. Therefore, we can live with confidence in other areas of our life.
We need to understand and know our value to God. A verse that I repeat when I want to beat myself up with unkind words is Romans 8:1, “Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those who are in Christ Jesus,” and in Romans 5:8, ‘But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!. These are reminders of who I am in Christ. Have you ever been condemned? This comes from Satan, not God. Remember that. When the Holy Spirit convicts us, it is through love and gentleness. There are mercy and grace. There is comfort in our conviction to help us to move away from that sin. This is where we have confidence in God and who he is. The more we spend with God the more our confidence grows. He gives us the power to do what he asks of us.
When we encourage one another, we build confidence in each other. We as humans need reminders. We need to remember the truths of God. We need to remind others about our hope for eternity. There are so many conflicts within our world, that it can bring us down. We need to encourage one another and remind each other of eternity. That this time is only for a moment. Paul complimented the believers that they are full of goodness and that they knew these things (the truths) so well. Ask God to bring to your mind who needs encouragement and then encourage them.
Read Romans 15:19-22
How does Paul describe his calling to ministry?
Paul had a passion to spread the good news about Christ where no church existed. He had a passion for others to pick up where he left off and continue the work. Where is God calling you to serve? As you spend time with God, he will give you clarity of where he wants you to serve. When we have this clarity we can confidently go out to our world and serve God around us. Are you ready?
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for giving us the confidence to do your work. Thank you for encouraging us and clarify your plans to us. I pray that we will help encourage others. I pray that we will step out in confidence for your kingdom.
In Jesus Name
Amen
