Confidence & Humility

If we struck a balance between a Godly confidence and a Godly Humility…learned to walk in both, it would be a really powerful Jesus type of spirit! Confidence and humility are not opposites or contradictory, but rather hand in hand and a powerful combination for high impact! I meet many people afraid of confidence, worried they might become proud, and holding back the gifts clearly given them by God. It's a shame. 

There is a difference between confidence and arrogance (few people are truly arrogant, most are insecure and masked with false arrogance). And there is also a difference between being humble and being pitiful. In Psalm 51, David gives us a great example of the dance between confidence and humility. David writes this Psalm after committing adultery with Bathsheba and the Psalm kinda goes like this (in my own words):

Humility: God, I messed up please forgive me. Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit in me.  

Confidence: I will teach people, they will respond, I will joyfully sing and my mouth will praise!

Humility: But the only sacrifice that you desire is a broken and contrite heart, so make mine so.

Confidence: We will make Zion prosper and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and we will be back in your grace. 

My short version of the whole Psalm: I am not going to walk around BEATEN UP because I SCREWED UP, but I am going to MOVE ON UP…with a broken and contrite heart!

Confidence, when properly carried can actually lead to incredible humility. The more we feel the weight of our gifts, the more we feel the need for the humility to not misuse them. It leads to meekness which my friend Keith taught me last week is "strength under control."

Leonard Sweet calls this a Jesus Spirit….the bringing together of these 2 powerful dynamics! It is an emptying and a filling. Remember, humility is NOT putting yourself down. And humility is NOT denying your strengths. It is honestly accepting your weaknesses. You strengths are gifts from God to be welcomed and carried out.

I guess the key to a big head is a big heart.