1 John 5:14: Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
When I look at this Scripture, I often find that most of us place our “confidence” on the latter part of this verse that says, “If WE ask.” I believe that we tend to place more of our faith in our confidence to ask, than in the One that we are asking. We must learn to have confidence in Him, that He will answer us and help us in our time of need. Psalm 86:5 declares, “for You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.” It is because of HIS goodness that He answers us, NOT our goodness. It is because of HIS abundant MERCIES, NOT our abundant WORKS. When we place our faith IN HIM and not in ourselves, then the Lord honors that position of humility.
We need to be just like Abraham when Scripture tells us that he was “fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.” (Romans 4:21) Abraham’s CONFIDENCE was in an unfailing God who could not lie, not in his own ability to make it happen or even a confidence in his faith.
Not only do we put our confidence in ourselves at times, but we also put our confidence in others to make a way for us. Let me give you an example. Maybe, you work for a company, own your own business, or even run a ministry, and you have placed your confidence in your boss, coworkers, and friends/partners to help you get promoted when Scripture declares that promotion comes from the Lord. (Psalm 75:6-7)
Psalm 118:8 makes this powerful statement, “it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.” I’m not saying that the Lord doesn’t use people to help us out, because that is part of us being the family of God. When we place too much confidence in the family and NOT in the FATHER, then we have placed our faith in the wrong thing.
The Lord is challenging each of us today to put our confidence FULLY in Him and allow Him to bring to pass what He has promised. This means that we must allow Him to bring it to pass in whatever way He wants to, and in the timing that He wants to bring it pass.
Let me leave you with this very simple truth from Proverbs 3:26, “for the Lord will be your CONFIDENCE, and will keep your foot from being caught.”
