Confident (through Him Alone)

I guess you've probably noticed by now that I like to share things from my devotions. :) I would like to share with you though, a little something that I learned the other night while reading Proverbs 14: 26--"the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and His children have a place of refuge." I don't about you, but when I read this verse, it struck me as being a little "contradictory", or maybe a better word would be a little confusing. I mean, how does "fear" bring "confidence"? Like I said, that's confusing! So when I finished the chapter, I jotted down the question: "How does the fear of the Lord bring confidence?" and these are a few thoughts that came to mind:

1) When I fear God, it really doesn't matter what happens or what the world
does to me, because it is God who I fear and not the world (or man).

2) Also, by fearing God and having Him in the right place in my life, I can
have confidence because I know that God is my authority and He is on my side (kind of going along with the first point.)

3) A healthy fear of God is brought about through an understanding of who God is--He is Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Omnipresnt, to mention a few, and by understanding these things, I can then have confidence in life.

4) I fear Him because I love Him, and "perfect love casts out fear" (1 John
4:18), thus giving confidence and boldness.

I think this verse (Proverbs 14:26) stood out to me because lately, I've really felt rather "afraid" of what others think of me--especially while helping with the different ministries at our church this last month. I've often subconsciously asked myself "Do I measure up to what others expect of a 'MK' girl?" I'll be honest: I've stuggled with this subject a lot lately.

But you know, it all comes back to the verse I mentioned in the beginning: If I really were fearing God, I wouldn't be so afraid of what others--even Christians--think of me! I would help in the different ministries without always wondering what others think of how I teach the lesson to the children, or fearing that someone else might come in and watch me as I minister to the children. No, I would be bold and confident that what I am doing is for the Lord, and that is all that matters! Period! Through God, I have no reason to be anything but bold and confident!

It is easy to write this all, but much harder to actually put it into practice.... My prayer is that we can encourage each other in our walk with God and help each other to look to Him for the strength to be bold for the cause of Christ and to put aside those fears that always arise.

Desiring to walk closer to Him,

~Angie