Confidence

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
    and never fails to bear fruit.”  (Jeremiah 17:7-8 NIV)

These verses grabbed my attention a couple of years ago.  They seem to fly in the face of human sentiment and intellect.  After all, isn’t it good to have “self-confidence?”  Our culture is so concerned with the idea of self-confidence and self-esteem.  “It’s a healthy thing to esteem oneself.”  There are entire sections of major bookstores devoted to the idea of esteeming oneself.    

But blessed is the man whose confidence is not in himself… not in his ability… not in his wealth of experience… not in his superior intellect… not in is advanced social skill.  Blessed is the man who realizes that these things are but wood, hay, and stubble.  Blessed is the man who realizes that he is but a breath… mere dust.  Blessed is the man who realizes that his own purposes and plans are like a paper lantern – they’re nice and even pretty to look at, but with one tiny little poke of the finger, they’re reduced to a piece of rubbish.  They’re frail and fragile - All the more when the Lord of heaven and earth extends HIS finger to our strategically organized plans and purposes.  

Blessed is the man whose confidence is in the LORD.  He doesn’t care what comes.  He doesn’t care what the world thinks of him.  He is unaffected and unmoved as he stands firm in the purposes of God.  Whether he is esteemed of men or not, it is of no consequence to him.  His confidence is in the Lord Most High.  This reality is the perfect antidote for worry and anxiety.  In fact, I would dare say that anxiety is nothing more than misplaced confidence.  If your confidence is in yourself, and you’re hedging your bets on your own ability to pull through… you should be worried.  

But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in HIM.