I was flipping through a magazine and came upon these words in an advertisement, “Act with confidence.” Napoleon Hill says it is not enough to act with confidence, we must practice it. For many people confidence does not come naturally, it is something we must be exercising, just like a muscle, or its strength and ability will be lost. Confidence is very closely related to faith. We are called to live our lives with a confidence which is rooted in our relationship with Jesus. The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:12, “In him [Christ] and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” This is one reason why it is important to say YES to the relationship with Jesus.
Fear will erode confidence. It will bring your progress in life to a grinding halt very quickly if you do not eliminate it from your life. Napoleon Hill wrote in his book, “The Law of Success” these words. “Where fear controls, noteworthy achievement becomes an impossibility, a fact that brings to mind the definition of fear, as stated by a great philosopher: ‘Fear is the dungeon of the mind into which it runs and hides and seeks seclusion. Fear brings on superstition, and superstition is the dagger with which hypocrisy assassinates the soul.’”
When we know the value of developing confidence and rejecting fear, why do we so often default to fear? Could it be we would be wise to consider what or who we are placing our confidence in? If the source of our confidence is grounded on a shaky foundation we just might find ourselves vulnerable to fear if the foundation is tested. The author of the Book of Hebrews suggests we “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
I would ask you to consider that you act with confidence, practice confidence, and live with confidence on the basis of what Hebrews 13:6 declares, “We say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’”