That Still, Small Voice of CONFIDENCE

Me - NOT listening to that voice of confidence!  :0) 

“The thief does not come except to kill, steal and destroy. But I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.” John 10:10

Recently my friend Loretta and I went to a MOPS group to speak. We have a cool power point presentation to go with our talk and upon arriving at the meeting the leader told us that the projector bulb burned out. She added, “But we could go to the room across the hall just for your talk because that projector works.”

Loretta and I looked at each other.

At this moment, something unseen happened that occurs constantly across our world. The enemy whispered in my ear.

Don’t make any trouble. The moms would have to leave all their stuff in this room and cross the hall. What trouble you’d be making, Robbie. Just do your talk without the power point. Don’t upset things. You want to be liked and this may cause someone to be angry with you.

Without asking Jesus what He thought, I spoke to my speaking partner. “Loretta, let’s just stay in here. We can do without.”

After more conversation, Loretta made a great point. “Robbie, they’re paying us. We’re professionals. The power point really adds. They can walk across the hall.”

This is a tiny example of an attack so very common to every Christian.

Insecurity = self doubt. Self doubt = self sabotage.

John 10:10 says so much. The thief, the enemy, the liar only comes to steal, kill and destroy. Satan does this through fear, divisiveness, jealousy and a host of other weapons in his arsenal. His bazooka of weapons is insecurity.

Can you picture it? A host of invisible evil-doers whisper in our ears consistently the lie: Don’t listen to your gut. Don’t take time to trust your gut.

If you are a believer, the Holy Spirit lives in you and gives you insight and intuition. He helps you guard your heart with truth and confidence. But the thief wants to steal that. So he constantly suggests to you and me that we should not trust ourselves.

The way to battle is to arm ourselves with truth and the weapons God has given us. Ephesians 6 lists them, ending with PRAYER.

At that MOPS meeting, I should’ve stopped, prayed and listened to His guidance. Period. Instead, I allowed the thief to attempt to steal a moment of joy and confidence.

I agreed with Loretta and the moms had to stand up and walk 20 feet to the other room. Poor women were furious with me. Of course, I’m being facetious. Our talk, aided by our power point, went well.

Today, there will probably be one or more moments when you and I will be tempted to ignore that still, small voice inside our hearts that longs to guide us into the abundant life mentioned in the second part of John 10:10. Situations come up every day in which we need to STOP and pray. I’m not talking about kneeling in the grocery store aisle, although if that’s what you need, hey, go for it. I’m talking about developing an inner conversation. One in which the question, “What do you think, Lord?” is at the ready. One in which we learn to trust our God-given instincts and walk in confidence.

Believe in the Spirit within you and your belief in you will grow. Practice the confidence He gives in the still, small voice and experience that abundant life He offers you today.