Confident

The other day my work colleague asked me if I was confident in making coffee’s. (holler I’ve probably made a proper coffee twice in my life). I said ‘Sure!’. He looked at me confused, knowing full well I didn’t know how to use a coffee machine. ‘You can be confident at anything, doesn’t mean you know what you’re doing.’

Confidence. ‘feeling or showing certainty about something.’

Over the last six months, I’ve come to be really intentional about this word confidence.

When you don’t have it, you want it. And when you’ve got it, ‘well don’t you know you’ve got it’. (imagine that being said in a deep southern American accent and we’re really rolling).

Confidence is attractive

It’s something most people want more of in their lives. It can also be the cause of intimidation should you be up against it. Confidence, I see, is a holy quality.

Something that is talked about several times in the bible, and something I believe as Christians I believe we are called to obtain.

Confidence has the ability to invade every area of our lives should we let it.

I used to think that people were born confident, and sure I would agree that some people have bolder character than others, but more often than not I’ve come to see that confidence is a choice. I can wake up and choose to be confident in a day, or choose not to be… and it will affect the outcome of the day.

Another saying that has rung true in the last six months…

‘Fake it til you make it.’

A weird concept right?Maybe. But it has its benefits and goes hand in hand with confidence.

The thing about confidence is that if you wear it, a lot of the time people won’t know you never had it. I’ll give you some examples…

I got given these bright red hot pants from my sister, and let me tell you what they are BOLD. I love them, but I’ve never been confident enough to wear them out. One day I just decided, ‘I love these pants, they’re cute and I’m gonna wear them.’

I was not fishing for complements, but I received many that day on my bright red hotpants!

One time my best friend set me up on a date with a mutual friend, I was practically vomiting the whole week from fear, but I chose to be confident and actually had a really fun time! (turns out first dates are not that scary yo)

The latest job I applied for I had no idea what I was doing, and I was nervous but I decided to be confident in myself and who I know Christ has made me to be, and I got the job!

Like I said, people love confidence. But where does our confidence come from? It comes from Jesus. He said ‘I can do all things through he who gives me strength’. (Philippians4:13)

And when he says that he means it, and I can believe that.

Jesus also said ‘The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. I’ve come to give life and give it to the full.’ (John 10:10). We can live our lives on earth by believing in him, but also being under Satan’s influence. The simple way of putting that into perspective: I can still believe in Jesus, but I may have not worn those red hot pants that day because I was afraid of what people thought, therefore I wouldn’t have been living in the life that Jesus’ promises me.

We need to ensure we are living in this LIFE that Jesus has promised us, he paid such a high price for me to live in freedom and I really believe that choosing to be confident is a way in which we can live in sweet freedom.

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. Hebrews 10:35

All my sweet love to the those that read these articles,

I hope this has been able to be an encouragement to you today.

Shannon Munyard is home to the Adelaide Hills where she works as a horse riding instructor and equine assisted learning facilitator at a non-for profit youth campsite. Shannon is passionate about authenticity, and seeing people connected to their hearts. She loves the outdoors, bush camping, pondering deep questions and Jesus.