Do you suffer from a lack of confidence? You know, some people seem to have been born with more than their fair share of confidence. Then there are others who seem to lack it. The truth is, that everybody experiences some area of doubt at some time. It comes down to degrees.
A lack of confidence can be chronic, pervading all areas of your life, almost crippling you. Or, it can be confined to very isolated areas. Of course, you may fall somewhere in between.
One of the dangers of a lack of confidence is not owning it and working to overcome it. You may find yourself trying to hide it from yourself and others by being brash, even to the point of being obnoxious. Another danger is suppressing and/or devaluing the work of others because you feel threatened. In a worst case scenario, you withdraw from others and they do not benefit from all that God has given you. Yet, you can overcome a lack of confidence in a healthy way. Here are 3 ways to do so.
#1 Know Who You Are to Overcome a Lack of Confidence
This has to be said again and again: know who you are in God. You are God’s wonderful and unique creation. Face the world from that posture. Moreover, as someone who has surrendered to God in Christ Jesus and is following Jesus, you are God’s handiwork: “Instead, we are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives” (Ephesians 2:10). It’s all God’s grace.
Believe this about yourself. Celebrate what God has given you. Celebrate that there is a place for you and your gifts and go forth to make your unique contribution.
In addition, when you meet another person, regardless of how gifted they may or may not be on the surface, celebrate them. Do not feel intimidated or superior. Rather, see the encounter as one of God’s gifted creations meeting another.
#2 Learn as Much as You Can to Overcome a Lack of Confidence
One of the things that leads to a lack of confidence in uncertainty. This is so especially for us introverted types. Thus, before getting into a situation, learn as much about it as possible. If it is a task that needs to be done, find out what skills are needed to do it. If those skills are not compatible with yours, politely decline. Or, it may be that this provides an opportunity for you to learn new skills or hone new ones. Prayerfully ask God for wisdom to know what to do and the strength with which to do it.
When it comes to dealing with people, remember what we said in point 1. Thus, you are going with your gifts to meet others with their gifts. Learn about them. Be curious about who they are and what they do. Take the spotlight off of you and put it on them in a caring way. Let God’s love shine through. Pray for them before, during, and after the interaction.
#3 Nurture Your Relationship with God to Overcome a Lack of Confidence
Nurture your relationship with God and you will grow in confidence. Why? As you grow closer to God and know God more, you will find your security and confidence in God. You will know with surety that God is with you in all situations. You will know in increasing measure who you are in God and live out of this. It will not be something you have to work up in a particular situation. In addition, as you nurture your relationship with God, God’s love will fill you more and more. You will live out of this love and the freedom this brings.
As a result, the sense of inadequacy and insecurity that often underly a lack of confidence will become irrelevant.
During this month of May we have been going through the series on, “overcoming in everyday life,” so that you get closer to God and gain a deeper understanding of who God is to live with confidence. In the first in this series we looked at overcoming overwhelm. Next, we considered ways of overcoming stress. In the our third blog post we discussed ways of overcoming negativity. The last time we looked at what to avoid in dealing with loss. There are no simple ways out of loss, hence the title did not follow the “3 simple ways” pattern. In this last blog post in the series we have looked at overcoming a lack of confidence.
I pray that you are stronger in God as a result of this series and are living as an overcomer.
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Get closer to God and gain a deeper understanding of who God is.
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