Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:19-23, NIV)
- - - -
Spirit-filled confidence is empowering.
In fact, there is something so intrinsically beautiful about it... A confident believer inspires, encourages, declares, convicts, welcomes, serves, leads, and proclaims the glory of Christ so vividly. And within this passage, we discover something so foundational to authentic confidence.
The author of Hebrews wants us to know this principle: Confidence is the product of seeable results and hopeful expectations. And yes, please read that again if you need to.
When a believer "sees" - knows, perceives, understands, is made aware of - the promises of God, they are led to engage their hearts and minds with "hopeful expectations." And when this hope grows and develops, confidence is produced.
Let's think about it practically...
When I know that I am new... When I perceive the complete change that has occurred in my soul... When I understand that Jesus, my great High Priest, has torn everything that separates me from His presence... When I am made aware of the work that His Spirit is doing to cleanse my guilty conscience and wash me pure and pure, I begin to engage my heart and mind with grand beliefs of what God is doing and will do.
This hope causes me to look for Him more. Dwell a little longer in my sincere prayers. Become a little quicker at confessing my sins. Rest a little stronger in His constant peace. Step out in boldness a little more and more throughout my day. And make requests that are much greater, wider, and deeper than ever before... Because in each instance, I know that He is there and is faithful.
And this, my friends, is the empowering display of spirit-filled confidence. We live radical lives of love because we fully believe the radical love of God.
I long for it. I long for it in my marriage. In my children. In my church. In my city. And I long for it within you.
But in my constant struggle with insecurity, doubt, fear, worry, and stress, this concept feels distant and impossible. If I pause and dissect my heart, I can notice the places where I have left gaps in that "confidence principle" that I spoke of earlier. Instead of seeing God's hand, I often see my own. Instead of seeing His work, I begin comparing mine.
In fact, if you and I took time and thought up every moment where we lacked spirit-filled confidence, we would notice something quite consistent. In every case, our hearts overlook what IS because of God and we begin to concentrate our thoughts on what IS because of us (or our situation, season, circumstance, etc).
Each act of in-confidence is the ill-fruit of us unknowing, misperceiving, misunderstanding, or being made "unaware of" God's promises; His decrees to us, over us, and about us.
What if the very reason we have struggled with confidence in our faith is due to our habit of overlooking God's promises? What if all it took was an intentional recap? A time of renewal, remembrance, and meditation on those fundamental truths?
I don't know about you, but this causes me to desire a deeper understanding of what my great God has promised to me, His child.
And this is exactly what this new series is all about.
For the next two weeks, join us as we dive into 9 other life-changing promises that our faithful God has spoken over us. Throughout it, you will notice something very cool... We have decided to team up with Jason and Laura van Dyk from God's Fingerprints, a gifted couple who have illustrated and designed beautiful art to capture these promises.
We would love for you to follow along, bring in a friend or two to join you, give your feedback throughout the series in our Instagram account, AND check out some of their artwork. Every day will showcase another piece!
We pray that you will join us as we discover the spirit-filled confidence that arises from knowing God's promises.
Blessings,
Greg, Declare Glory
Today's Image by God's Fingerprints:
