CONFIDENCE

Confidence is so important because it gives us the ability to push through any situation and reach the desired outcome. It gives us the strength to go after and strive for the calling and path God has placed in our lives. Unfailing confidence is found in Jesus Christ versus confidence in our own abilities, knowledge, wealth, or good deeds. Our confidence is only as strong as that in which it is founded. Even in all of our greatest accomplishments and strengths, we know we are going to fall short at times. However, if we put our confidence in Christ, we know He will never fail us. Our confidence will be solid - even in our weaknesses. It is by His grace and favor that we can steadily run the race and know that we are not alone. God's love is unconditional, His mercies are new every morning, He desires to see us succeed, His Holy Spirit counsels and comforts us. The Bible directs us to be confident in our salvation, our prayers & requests, and our future. His plans for us far surpass anything we could imagine or plan on our own.

Proverbs 3:25 & 26 “Do not be afraid of sudden terror, or of trouble from the wicked when it comes; For the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.” Reading and meditating on this scripture will give you a sense of security. What a great promise that we have been provided! Begin to put the situations you have always tried to control in God’s hands and let your confidence come solely from the Lord. You will start sensing such security and faith when you place all your confidence and trust in His hands. His love is never failing.

Humility

"Humble yourself under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time". 1 Peter 5:8

One of the first moves a dancer learns in class is the plie. Plie means "to bend" or "to bow". The bending of knees in small and large plies is the first exercise of each ballet class, whether a beginning or advanced dancer. The plie, bending of the knees, is one of the seven movements of dance as it connects large movements as well as begins and ends every type of jump. Without the plie, jumping in to the air or jumping forward is virtually impossible. Likewise, landing without a plie after being airborne can cause damage to the body.

This ideal of bending before rising is also a spiritual truth found in the Bible. "Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up." Prior to God lifting us up to a new level in our lives, we must bend/ bow, or hearts and will to Him. And in order to not allow pride in our hearts, we must cushion our mountaintop moments with a continued bowing of the heart thereafter. As we bend our knees, our hearts, our will, before the Lord, we are showing Him honor, respect, and ultimately a submission to His will in our lives. Before Jesus was raised up on the cross or ascended to Heaven, He bowed in the Garden of Gethsemane and submitted to His Heavenly Father's will. In humility, we acknowledge that the Lord is better at handling our lives than we are. Through this, our greatest rewards and joys are found. God fill us with HIS strength and HIS grace. "God resists the proud but gives GRACE to the humble." 1 Peter 5:5 We are not alone.

HONESTY

"Kings take pleasure in honest lips" Proverbs 16:12

Websters dictionary defines honesty as: freedom from deceit or fraud, truthful, sincere, and fair. As Christians, we grow up learning the importance of truth. We realize the Word of God is the truth, our sword for spiritual warfare. Too, the truth sets us free. As a young adult, I am understanding the great value of honesty in others as well as myself in normal everyday affairs. As a believer, the need for me to be honest with myself before the Lord is crucial in growing in areas of my life. Too, the need for honest love and acceptance continues to be something I need each day. There is no other love more honest and pure than the love from Jesus Christ. Honesty is mentioned quite a bit in the Old Testament in reference to the way the Lord desired his people to run their business affairs and relationships. God desires for me to live both honestly in my lifestyle as well as my speech.

"Kings take pleasure in honest lips, they value the one who speaks what is right." Proverbs 16:12. Being honest is key in gaining honor and respect to those in leadership positions. Proverbs 24:26 reads, "An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips". Honesty is also a key in closeness in any relationship. Again, as I am honest before the Lord and others, closeness and intimacy grows. God never asks me to be perfect but He does ask me to be honest. Being honest can sometimes be very humbling. Proverbs 22:3 tell us "Humility is the fear of the Lord, it's wages are riches and honor and life." It is my heart's desire to be known as a honest woman and be trusted. Yes, I am flawed and still maturing. But as I accept God's unconditional honest love for me at deeper levels, it gives me the security to be honest and transparent to others.

Patience

Colossians 3:12 “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

Psalm 27:14 “Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.”

Patience: definition - bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint

In America, we are use to getting whatever we need or want almost instantly. Whether it be food where we have drive thru’s, or talking to a friend through a quick text message, everything we do can be done in an instant. Yet, when it comes to our Christianity or dealing with other people and their decisions that affect us, we may not be able to control how quickly something is accomplished.

There are many instances in the Bible where we see patience exercised. In the story of Joseph, he was falsely accused of a crime and put in jail for years before he was let out and then promoted to 2nd in command over all of Egypt. In this story, it first seems like there’s no way that anything good could come out of Joseph being stuck in prison. But, during that time of waiting and patience, Joseph met some very important people who would help him make his way up to second in command. Also, while he was in prison, he was helpful to other prisoners by interpreting their dreams. When one of the prisoners got out before Joseph, the prisoner was able to tell Pharaoh about Joseph when Pharaoh needed one of his own dreams interpreted.

We can learn from this story that there is much good that can come out of waiting and being patient. God can be setting the stage for a future destiny through circumstances or relationships we may not currently understand. When we are at a point that exercises patience, we build our trust in God. Sometimes it seems that the longer we wait, the more trust we have knowing that God will provide and do just as He promises us in His word. During the time that we are waiting, there are truths and understandings that God can reveal to us that will help us in the future. The Bible reminds us in Psalm 46:10 to “be still and know that I am God.” The times that we are waiting patiently for a breakthrough, although it may be difficult, are the very times that God can reveal to us an understanding and revelations that we have been waiting to hear.

Whatever may be testing your patience, remember that God is still near in every situation. Know that your patience is only making you stronger and preparing you for a great future!

HOPE

Psalm 39:7- “But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.”

Definition of HOPE: to expect with confidence

The entire chapter of Psalm 39 reveals to us the power of hope. Hope helps us to know what to do when our world seems to be a whirlwind around us. When there is so much going on and we feel like we are on our own, this is when it’s very important to continue hoping in the Lord. He will renew and refresh us daily! His Word says that we should not worry. We can be confident in Him! He takes care of the single sparrow, and all the lilies in the valley. If he cares for them, we can rest knowing that He cares for us all the more as His children. Put your hope in something that will never fail! Hebrews 6:19 says “We have this hope as an anchor for our soul, firm and secure.” This scripture speaks of the hope of God’s blessings and encouragement, originally promised to Abraham. We can rely on God and rest in Him no matter what stage of life we are going through. His hope will keep us secure and at rest.

MOTIVE

This note is a reprint from two years ago. I realized that MOTIVE truly is a virtue. What makes this virtue different than most is that it cannot easily be seen by others, but by the Lord. Yet, it is one of the most important issues of the heart and our destiny. It is wrong motive that caused Lucifer’s fall, Judas’ betrayal, David’s quietly contrived murder of Uriah. It was pure motive that led Moses' mother to set her baby into the river, Jacob to pursue Rachel, Esther to be queen, and Jesus to conquer the cross. The Bible clearly states that our motives are not to be judged by others. Yet, we are to hold ourselves accountable to the Lord in our quiet time as well as spiritual relationships of accountability. And though motives cannot be seen by onlookers, our fruit will eventually tell the world what substance we truly possess. Only the Holy Spirit can help us to understand and see the motives hidden within the most personal and deepest parts of our souls.

“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

What motive is driving us to achieve our goals? Is it status? Are we only wanting to gain acceptance from our peers or superiors? Is there rhyme or reason to some of the things we strive so hard and long for, only to appear “better” to certain people? How far we will go to appear to be something we truly are not? Once we have gained this status, how is it going to catapult us further? With this question in mind, it takes us to another question. What is our ultimate goal in life? Is it to please Jesus with everything we do in every aspect of our life? Or is it to do whatever needs to be done to “prove ourselves” to gain someone’s respect and love, or to gain status? Do we prove ourselves only to prove someone else wrong? Why is it we feel we have to prove ourselves? Our lives are not lived to merely prove ourselves to others, but to advance the Kingdom of God. Are our actions kingdom-driven, or are they “what-will-give-me-self-gain” driven? It is important that we realize our motivation behind each action.

Likewise, it is important to be excellent in all we do. It’s not that we need to be less than others in order to be humble. I once heard someone say that being meek is not being pushed down so people can walk over you, but it’s having power under control. With that said, are we excellent so we can give God our best, or are we excellent so we can prove something to the people we see here on earth? Will our actions here in the present affect our impact in the kingdom of God? Do we honor God in every area of our lives, or just where it’s comfortable and easy? As Christians, it’s easy to keep our relationship with Him in a separate box away from everything else that goes on in our lives. But we should do whatever it takes to allow God to infiltrate every aspect of our life. We can’t pick and choose certain times to honor Him.

In your everyday walk, take a step back every once in a while and look in. Look in to your life and meditate on your reasons and motives. Make adjustments of the heart as the Lord directs you. Ask Him to purify your motives. If you stay close to the Lord, you will allow Him be the motive of every decision in your life.

FAITH

Definition of FAITH: Firm belief in something for which there is no proof.

If you grew up (or are currently growing up) as a Christian, faith is something that you probably heard about very often. Some phrases such as these may sound familiar: “If you just have FAITH you can do anything!” or “Put your FAITH in God and you’ll be secure!”. To be completely honest, I have heard the term “faith” so often, that it hasn’t been until recently that I’ve really understood faith and allowed the meaning to sink into my heart.

Understanding thoroughly about faith has given me a greater amount of peace. Over time, I have found two of my favorite verses regarding faith. The first is 1 Corinthians 2:5 “...your faith may not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” That scripture is very powerful to me! Even though we may not be certain of what is going on in our life, or how things may turn out in a certain situation, we know that our faith is safe if it is rested on God’s power. It’s easy to have faith in men’s wisdom (just as the previous scripture states.) But, I then begin to ask myself, is that REALLY having faith? Faith is belief of something that there is no proof. Most likely, men’s “wisdom” will seem pretty reliable because they can explain WHY or HOW something will work while they are standing right in front of me, being extremely convincing. With God, we may not always get answers in their entirety or answers that are understandable right away! It takes us falling away from our flesh and understanding to have true faith in God.

Regardless of what people around us might say, you can be secure in Him, because all things work together for the good of those who love Him. He will show Himself faithful to you. Faith enables you to follow Him more easily here on earth. Faith makes it easier to hear and obey His voice, even when it seems tough. The ultimate reward of faith is our salvation and eternal life! It takes FAITH to follow Him and rest in the path on which He is leading you.

I encourage you to trust God, and put your faith in Him and His power. I want to leave you with my other favorite verse on faith: Hebrews 11:1- “Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see.”