City Life Starter

Written by Aisha Darwesh

The Word

The wicked are edgy with guilt, ready to run off even when no one’s after them; Honest people are relaxed and confident, bold as lions.

Proverbs 28:1 (MSG)

Aisha’s Analysis

Today’s verse shows us that those who put their complete trust in God are relaxed and confident, bold as lions. It also shows us that unlike arrogance, which is rooted in deception, confidence blooms from the bedrock of honesty. 

Pride and arrogance are associated with fear and restlessness. It takes hard work to keep up a lie. However, the truth just is. You can relax when you embrace the truth, even if it’s a hard truth to accept. One of my favorite speakers/authors, Elisabeth Elliot, often said “in acceptance lies peace.” In her book, Be Still my Soul, she wrote:

Acceptance of my circumstances, the first step in obtaining joy and peace, begins with faith. I would have no reason simply to accept the awful things that happen if I had no idea that Somebody was governing this world and that my individual life was completely under the control of One who possesses perfect wisdom, perfect justice, and perfect love. 

Placing your total faith and confidence in Christ gives you the ability to accept yourself and your circumstances and rest in His unchanging nature. It’s only in embracing the reality of the situation and looking to God for guidance, that we can see true transformation. Confidence in anything but God is faulty–as it should be. We were never designed to live apart from God, so it makes sense that putting our confidence in other things would result in malfunctions. 

However, when we go back to our Creator–our loving Father, we can do all things. A whole new world of possibility opens up when God enters the scene. Don’t just have self-confidence. Self is very limited apart from God. Place whatever confidence you have, however slim it may be, completely in Christ. Walk in God-fidence and never look back. 

Application

Can you honestly say you have confidence in Christ? What does that look like? Who or what do you turn to in times of distress? The best way I know how to exercise confidence in Christ is through prayer and standing on the Word of God. Those two things have kept me anchored through every storm and season. 

When something in your life or identity is shaken, go to God. Let Him be the one to define you, not anything or anyone else. Find out what His word says about who you are. Find security and rest in His love. Stay rooted in that throughout your day. 

Prayer

Father God, I thank You that I’m Yours. I belong to You, and that means You know exactly what I need and You’ll take care of me. I find rest in You. May Your love carry me through every storm and season. In Jesus’ name, amen.