The Source of Confidence

How much confidence do you have in accomplishing personal goals? Many people have dreams and hopes related to career, finances, relationships and so on but do not have a deeply embedded confidence that they will actually realize those goals. As I have noted before, it really isn't the accomplishing of the goals thats the issue. It's in setting them. If you can actually set a goal (a purposed goal) then the accomplishing of it becomes quite easy.

I have always been surprised at how many people have no confidence in themselves or their ability to reach a goal or realize a dream. They focus on all the reasons why they can't accomplish it rather than all the reasons they can. They suffer from what David Schwartz dubbed "excusitis" in his book The Magic of Thinking Big.

In actuality these good people have a good dream or goal; they just rely on the wrong foundational source for accomplishing it, They have no confidence because they look at themselves and their abilities/circumstances, But if they believe their goal is a purposed goal (see my discussion of "purposed goal" here) then accomplishing the goal becomes so much easier because they believe the goal is part of the reason they exist.

6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Phil. 1:6

Paul says that he is confident (or reliant) of a simple fact: The good work of carrying out the gospel message through the Philippians will continue and be completed through God Himself ... "he who began a good work will complete it ..." Paul says he can rely on this fact because it is God who gave it and began it. He says it will be God Who sees it through.

Now I don't know about you, but that fact encourages me. If God is the author, planner, and actual productive aspect of my goal(s), then how can I not be confident? If I see a goal as something God Himself has given, shouldn't I rely on the fact that it will be realized? Shouldn't I exude confience and expectancy? Shouldn't that knowledge cause me to encourage others to discover their own God-given purposes and set God-directed goals?

How can you have anything but confidence if you truly believe God is behind the goal? So go ahead, trust your instinct and set the goal. Believe it was God-given and allow confidence to flow through you.

I have a friend who set a goal to start a church in an area already saturated with churches. Denominational leaders told him that it would be a futile effort because so many churches existed, They encouraged him to go some place where fewer churches existed. But my friend believed that God was directing him to start the church right where all the other churches were. The denomination offered no monetary support, He had no money, no resources, no people, no anything. Well, that's not quite true, He did have a goal. A goal that was God-directed.

After three years of hard work his church was averaging almost 250 in Sunday attendance, The denomination took notice and then offered support.

What is your purposed goal(s)? A ministry? A business? A new home? Stronger relationships? To publish a book? What?

Paul believed God was behind the efforts of the Philippians. The impact of that church is now part of Christian history.

I wonder what might happen if you believe that God is behind your efforts.

I hope this has been a blessing.

Tony Guthrie
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