Remember this commercial?



(I apologize... you'll be singing that jingle all day. Me, too.)

No, I'm not posting about perspiration, although for the record I think it's ridiculous that our culture is so silly about basic bodily functions. This post is actually about confidence.

Confidence (full trust; belief in the powers, trustworthiness, or reliability of a person or thing) can be very fragile. A harsh word, ridicule, rebuke, or rejection can sap your confidence in your own ability. Disappointment, discouragement, or deception are destructive to our confidence in others. The loss of confidence makes us hesitate when we should be charging ahead. It makes us withdraw when we have an opportunity to advance. Attempting to do anything you don't feel confident about is 10X more difficult that doing something you believe you are able to accomplish.

We have an enemy who would like to keep each of us as constricted and contained as possible. The more able and qualified you are to do something, especially if it's something "for the greater good," the harder the enemy works behind the scenes to draw a line in the sand you'll be afraid to cross. Every time you fail to push back and cross that line, he pushes harder and draws another one, corralling you in a smaller and smaller enclosure until you're in the equivalent of an imaginary straightjacket.

What is that line in the sand? It's your confidence line. 
  
Where have you allowed the enemy of your soul to push back your confidence line and hinder you from doing what you love, fulfilling your calling in this world, or just enjoying your life in fullness? 

I'm tired of being restrained and restricted. I mean, when you can't even make a phone call without hyperventilating, when going for a walk causes a panic attack, when having lunch with a friend or submitting an article or going out of town leaves you wanting to crawl under your bed and hide, when you're so beat down you don't even start something new for fear of failure, that's NOT the abundant life Jesus came to give us.

"The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows.)" ~Jesus 

John 10:10, The Amplified Bible

 It's time to push back... you (and I) might not have any confidence in ourselves, but we CAN have confidence that the One who loves us with an everlasting love is right there with us, pouring HIS ability into us that we may succeed and thrive!



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