His Team
What comes to mind when I say the word – confidence? How do we arrive at a place of confidence? Although this is an elementary word that everyone is aware of, I think it’s important for us to have a definition. I read this definition, “confidence isn’t about feeling superior to others. It’s a quiet inner knowledge that you’re capable.”
People who are confident have a sure sense of their abilities. It’s important for us to make a clear distinction here that confidence is completely different than pride. Confidence comes from a secure, rooted place, whereas pride often is a branch from an insecure place. Can a Christian be confident, if so, what does that look like?
This may seem like a silly question, but I’ve found it to be one that I personally wrestle with. There are some in the Christian circle who only ever talk about how awful we as people are. There is some truth here. Sin has infected the world, it’s infected our hearts, and this is why Jesus came, bled, died, and resurrected. Once we acknowledge our sin and put our faith and trust in Jesus, everything changes.
We’re given a new heart and we then begin our walk in sanctification. This is a fancy word for becoming more like Jesus. It’s kind of like joining your very first little league baseball team and Jesus is your coach. For analogy’s sake, let’s say Jesus is a Hall of Fame Big Leaguer and your goal is to be just like Him. From day one, you are on Jesus’ team – that’s never going to change. But you have no idea how to play the game like He has yet. You need to learn the skills and you need to put in the time and only after this pursuit of being coached by and following Jesus do you find yourself becoming more like Him.
Whose team are you on? Jesus’. Are you like Him yet? No, but you’re being coached by Him and you’re on your way. There are a few things here. For one, there’s an assurance of who’s team you’re on. Regardless of your performance, you are on Jesus’ team. When we put our faith and trust in Him, that reality becomes our assurance. Secondly, we have this confident hope of what’s to come. We are daily becoming more like Him as we spend time with Him, practice with Him, and learn from Him. We trust and we believe that we are on our sanctification journey to being more like Jesus.
The theme verse for Life Roots is Colossians 2:6-7. “And now, just as you have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord (you believe in Him and you have the assurance of being on His team) you must continue to follow Him, let your roots grow down into Him and let your lives be built on Him (learn from Him and practice being just like Him), for then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught and you will overflow with thankfulness.”
Let’s jump back to Christian confidence for a moment – a confident Christian is an assured Christian. Hebrews 11:1 says it this way, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction (certainty) of things not seen.” Faith in the truth of Jesus is what brings us, as believers, assuredness. It also allows us to walk with confident certainty in this truth which we can’t see.
How do we interact with the world considering this? We do so with a rootedness. We stand firm in the truth of the Gospel. It’s from this place that we are able to walk with assured certainty of who we are and what’s been done for us. God has made each and every one of us with unique intention. He’s also saved us from the sin that has bound us and He has set us free through the blood of His Son Jesus, when we believe. This is where we, as Christians, derive our confidence from. It's a reason to stand tall and stand firm – not in arrogance but in assuredness.
I want to encourage you, friends. For those of you who are believers, remember whose team you’re on. Remember that God is faithful to continue the work in you that He started (Philippians 1:6). If you’re not a believer yet, this truth is available to you too. The door to Jesus’ team doesn’t require a tryout or a specific set of skills, it only requires a yes from you (if you have more questions please shoot me an email, I’d love to hear from you). We, as Christians, have every reason to walk in confidence. As we continue with Jesus as our Savior and our Coach, He is faithful to lead us to become more like Him, walking with us on our sanctification journey.
