Hebrews 10: 35-36 “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”

There once was a little girl who, from the outside of her life, looked as if she had so much going for her. She was confident in her decisions and she was well-respected by her peers and teachers. However, on the inside another person existed. She shuttered with the fear of everyone rejecting her. She shook at the fact of having to stand up in the front of the class and give reports. She thought that she would evaporate into thin air if a fella that she was “fond of” remotely whispered her name.

This little girl is now grown up and still looking on the outside that she is confident in her appearance and intellect. She doesn’t balk at new opportunities to step outside the box of familiar environments. But on the inside, she still from time to time listens to the whispers of the enemy (Satan). He tells her little lies of “you are not qualified,” “You don’t have enough experience,” and even “they will think you are crazy if you share that new idea.”

This little girl is me.

I know this may seem quite shocking to some of you who know me. To others, you may have even already discerned this “issue” of mine.

This weekend, I have had the privilege of sitting in a room full of 700 women at the She Speaks conference who I am sure have had the same thoughts from time to time. I would even be willing to bet that there are many other women and men who think these same thoughts. The more I share this phenomenon….I realize I am not the only one in this camp.

Whether you are a woman reading this or a man married to a woman who could possibly have these thoughts….please don’t veer away from this blog now. Stay close. I’ll explain.

I was introduced to a scripture this weekend that brought freedom to my soul more than I think I truly realize.
Hebrews 10:35 states:
“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”

There is so much TRUTH in that scripture Let me unpack for you what I learned.

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.”

You see…I have been participating in this “garbage man mentality”. Somedays, I tend to throw away my confidence in the skills and talents that God has given me.

According to this scripture, I have learned that by throwing away my confidence I have ultimately been losing out on the richest rewards God has for me. I do it so haphazardly.

Those riches that Paul speaks about in Hebrews may not be material or financial rewards…then again if God is involved, nothing is impossible. But there are rewards that far out weigh anything else in life. They are called Blessings!

Besides changing my mindset and not being the “garbage woman” any longer…I have another instruction that I learned from this scripture.

PERSEVERENCE

“Persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what HE HAS PROMISED” (my emphasis).

I need to keep going in the direction that God is leading me to step out of my comfort zone in. If He is opening the doors of new opportunities, then I don’t need to shy away because of my lack of confidence. Instead, I need to persevere so that when I do the will of God – He will give me what He has promised….not what I want or ultimately expect.

I rejoice in the fact that I have turned over a new leaf this weekend at She Speaks. I have stepped out of my comfort zone and instead of throwing away my confidence I have now THROWN AWAY the lies that the enemy has whispered so deceitfully to me. These lies included the thoughts that I was not qualified to do the job that God has called me to do.

I have stepped up and reminded the enemy that my God, who is mighty in power has given ME the power to do anything through God’s strength that works in me.

I have claimed the TRUTH of God’s Word that says in Philippians that God who began a good work in me will carry it out through to completion on the day of Christ.

He gives me such encouragement in Psalms 32:8 that says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.”

Which means He isn’t going to leave me abandoned to handle those intimidating opportunities to do it all by myself. I find great comfort in this!

Oh… the places God is going to take me just because I was willing to STOP throwing away my confidence.

If you struggle with this same idea of throwing away your confidence then look into reading this book by my friend Renee Swope. (You can check it out on the link to her blog.)

It is brand spankin’ new! Hot off the press! And sure to bless your socks off if you are needing some restructuring of your confidence! I have just begun reading it myself. I would LOVE to hear your thoughts here! Feel free to leave a comment here on the blog.

You can check out purchasing the book here

Look close on her blog….because I believe she even has some freebies you can sign up to receive! I aways love anything FREE!

Blessings,