We all need to have faith in ourselves—or rather faith that God is in us and that He can use us. Since God uses individuals to do His work, we have to believe that we’re capable. We need faith in His ability to perform and work through us. We must dare to try, which means allowing God to try through us.
We are weak and faulty, but our God is invincible. We are earthen vessels, yet as we commit our lives and hearts to Him, He becomes one with us and can work through us. “The people who know their God shall be strong and do great things.” 1
God wants us to be humble and dependent on Him, and He also wants us to be confident in His power and His ability to use us for His glory, even when we feel incapable. Give God the glory, and believe that you can do what is His will, because He can do it through you. “God is the one who enables you both to want and to actually live out his good purposes.” 2
Here are a few more thoughts on this subject:
- Having faith in yourself is a combination of confidence in God and His infallibility, and faith to act on that confidence.
- It requires humility to acknowledge your inability, and at the same time to acknowledge God’s ability to do anything through you. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” 3
- That kind of faith is allowing God’s strength to be made perfect in your weakness. 4
- It’s faith that doesn’t set boundaries. It’s letting God determine what you can do.
Of course, no matter how much faith we have, not everything in life is going to be problem-free and work out smoothly and easily. God will come through for us, but we’re nonetheless going to have to fight through time and again. But no matter how hard we have to fight, or how many things need to change, we know that we will win. Jesus told us, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” 5
Let’s work to cultivate an atmosphere of faith in our lives—a faith that believes, hopes for, and expects the best, and knows that God will never fail to care for us; He will keep the promises in His Word.