Confidence With Great Reward: Quick Thoughts on Self-Confidence

Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.  -Hebrews 10:35-36

Confidence. We toss the word around as if it’s actually a personality trait. She has a lot of confidence. He just needs some self-confidence. If only she had greater self-esteem, then she wouldn’t battle this eating disorder or depression… (or worse.)

Confidence. The talent to enter a room and feel like you own it? The ability to clearly state what you believe without wavering? The mindset that assures you that you’ve nothing to fear but fear itself?

I often hear experts talk about how the body image issue destroys girls self-confidence. And I wonder…

Is this really what we need? Self-confidence?

I don’t think this kind of confidence is real or lasting. It’s temporary. Even if you manage to make it through your short eight or nine decades on this earth without feeling self-conscious or stewing over whether or not you said the right words or took the right action. At the end of your life, your confidence will run out if it’s placed in the person staring back at you in the mirror.

Yet there is a confidence that will never fade. Confidence placed not in ourselves but in a hope that is far greater than my aspiration of personal greatness. It’s a confidence placed in Christ Jesus and what he promises us. This confidence will last for eternity–superseding death. It’s more than a feeling. It’s a deep-down knowing kind of confidence that recognizes there is something bigger and better than me.

And, it’s secure. If I fail, he won’t. If I stumble, he’ll catch me. Running out of enthusiasm for “me” and my “awesomeness” benefits me as I remember who the truly awesome one is: my Savior.

Need more encouragement? Check out Heather's books here, or her online course and coaching program here. You can also give the Compared to Who? podcast a listen, for twice-weekly encouragement with body image struggles from a Christian standpoint, where she explores all the nitty-gritty details we all face when struggling with body image woes and how to get free.