Saturday 03 November 2018

Background

Confidence is a curious thing. We can be sick with nerves over things that we have rehearsed over and over and know thoroughly. We can be full of confidence over a carefully planned set of arrangements that then falls apart through circumstances beyond our control. We may set off confidently in one direction only to be faced with a diversion that leads us on a route for which we have no plan. Confidence can be shaken, it can fade, it can die. Confidence can also grow and be strong. Psalm 27 starts with a strong confident declaration. The ability to make this declaration is not bravado; it is born of a deliberate seeking after God’s presence for every circumstance “that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life” (v. 4, New International Version).

Confidence comes to face down those who wage war against the psalmist. He trusts not in his personal skills of combat but in his Lord. He seeks God. He seeks sanctuary in God’s presence and, from there, he is able to be confident for whatever comes his way. When we seek confidence, it can often be in proficiency or in quality. We may look for a car we can be confident in or a computer that won’t let us down. These are useful and good – certainly reduces an amount of stress – but they are not the answer. In the face of a corrupted file, a seized-up engine, the answer is not to buy better any more than the answer for David was to get better friends and treaty with his enemies. The promptings of the heart are to seek the face of God, the place where true confidence is found. Things may still go wrong. Things will still go wrong. But the solid place in our lives is the sanctuary of God’s presence. From this place, we will not fall apart; our world will not crash down. It is the place of confidence, where a heart grows strong. It is the One Thing we need.

To Ponder

• This week, we have “given thanks in all circumstances”, trusted God’s goodness in the fear-filled times, considered how we learn to trust, and celebrated the joy of answered prayer. This all comes from that place of confidence in God. That confidence is found in the sanctuary of God’s presence.  Use this time to seek sanctuary.
• “Waiting for the Lord” (v. 14) can be frustrating when we are desperate for a quick fix to our issue or instant respite from a difficult emotion. In your experience, where does the strength to wait come from? How might you develop this muscle?