Don’t Trash Your Confidence  ~ by Lynn Cowell  

“Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.” Luke 1:38 (NLT)

No. No. No. Every email I received said the same thing, only in different words. We don’t publish that type of book. We don’t publish writers we don’t know. We won’t publish you.

Lord, I’m not sure I can take one more rejection.

Each publisher’s rejection wanted to seep into my heart.  I wanted crawled in bed to cry; and I did many days. Why would God ask me to do something good, yet allow a process that made me feel so bad?

There once was a girl who was much wiser than me. Instead of building her confidence on something she could lose, or have taken away, she built her confidence on God.

Her name is Mary, and her story is found in the Bible.

Picture this teenage girl with me. She’s engaged to be married to a great guy. Their wedding plans are in motion. Life is good.

But then, suddenly her happily-ever-after dreams are interrupted by an angel who greets her with a surprise announcement: 

“Good morning! You’re beautiful with God’s beauty, Beautiful inside and out!

God be with you” (Luke 1:28, The Message).

Flattered? Nope. She was actually scared to death! The angel assures her, “You have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you. You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus.” (v. 29 – 33)

My reaction would have been, “What? Pregnant? I’m not married yet! There’s no way!”

But, when Mary received this news, we don’t see fear or doubt. Her response isn’t, “This will be the end of me! What will my whole town say about me?”

Mary doesn’t ditch her confidence. Instead, as we find in today’s key verse, her reaction is grounded in faith: “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”

Mary responded with confidence because Mary’s confidence was built on her relationship with God.

Not on something, like her reputation. It was no longer within her control.

Not on someone, like Joseph. For all she knew he would leave her once he found out she was pregnant.

Not on someplace, like her home. Mary actually left town to visit her cousin after she received this news

Did Mary understand everything God was doing? It’s unlikely. Did she resent what He was doing? It doesn’t appear so.

Would others judge her? No doubt they would, but Mary did not allow people’s opinions to hold her back from embracing God’s calling, even ifshe didn’t completely understand it. Her lack of details didn’t impact her confidence in His plans for her life nor her trust in Him to take care of her.

There have been times when I have based my confidence on others. As a teenager I based it on a boyfriend’s affection, a coach affirmation or my parent’s approval. If one of them fail to give me the “atta girls” I craved, I saw myself as a failure.

As a mom I’ve built it on my kids and how well they did. When they made a mistake, my confidence I was shaken. I’ve based my security on my career and the success I wanted. Yet success hasn’t always come, although rejection often has.

Has there been a time when circumstances were less than perfect and your confidence was shaken?

I’m learning that unshakeable confidence is built over time, before confidence-shaking circumstances come. In those times God wants to teach us: He alone is our firm foundation for building shaken-proof confidence. Not something. Not someone. Not someplace. Only Him.

As we face the uncertainties that are inevitable in life, in our relationships, in our future,  let’s start today and build our confidence on the one thing that can never be taken away, God. The only one who will never leave us and never forsake us.

Jesus, it’s easier to build my confidence on what I can see and what I know. Help me to build my confidence on You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

Lynn has just released a new book: Magnetic: Becoming the Girls He Wants. Magnetic empowers young women to: 

·      Stop feeling powerless over your emotions and people’s opinions as you gain unshakeable confidence

·      Limit the draining affect of “girl drama” so you can invest your time in becoming the best you

·      Replace the agonizing frustration of wanting to be noticed and liked with a deep assurance that you already are

You can order your copy here.