What Is The Source Of Your Confidence?

I was listening to Paws and Tales, an Insight For Living, radio “cartoon” kid’s broadcast. OK, yes I am a big kid. I love Paws and Tales radio broadcast. It was an episode where the “kids” found a penny and thought that the penny brought them good luck. The kids played on the same baseball team. They placed the penny in a bag and every team member had to touch the bag before they went on to the field. They played like they had never played before. The made it to the championship game. They attributed their success on the baseball field to the “lucky” penny. They played with great confidence knowing that they would win the games leading up to the championship game.

One of the players on the team realized that they had stopped playing the game with the same passion for God that they once did. They had pledge to each other to play to please God. They stopped praying before and after the games. They stopped talking about God all together. They could only talk about the penny. The team member who realized their fault as a team, reminded them of their pledge to one another. They could care less about the pledge at that time, all they could think about was winning another game and that “lucky” penny was the key.

The team member that realized they had fallen short on their pledge to God was also the keeper of the penny. She then informed the team that the penny was not lucky and it was not the source of their success. She proved her point by telling them that she spent the original at the candy store. Later she replaced the penny with something other than money until she was able to replace it with a dime. After spending the dime she then placed another penny in the bag. The team still had a hard time acknowledging their shortfall.

They lost the championship game. Not because they did not have the talent, but they had lost their confidence. They played as hard as they could, but something was missing. After the game they gathered together and finally acknowledged to one another that God was the missing piece. They, unlike a lot of adults, got it! They forgot about God.

They forgot Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. They immediately knelt to pray and recommit themselves to their team pledge to play to please God.

This broadcast made me think. What is the source of my confidence? I would like to say it is always God, but there are times when I really have to be honest with myself. I am more like the kids in the story than I want to admit. I think many of us are. We are spiritually strong until we fall under attack and become mentally weak. Our mind is the battlefield of choice for the enemy.

Psalms 118:8 – It is better to trust in the Lord than to put trust in people.

We must remember the promise of God that is found in John 16:33 – Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

God has already won the war. That should be the source of our confidence as we go through our daily struggles and as we experience earthy victories.

God Bless you.