Confident Humility

Lesson 5 of 12 in the Man of God series

Two men wanted the same job. When the first man was called in for his interview, he slouched when he walked and slumped when he sat; he gave a weak handshake; he spoke so quietly the interviewer could barely hear him; and he hardly ever looked at the interviewer. Later, the second man was called in for his interview. This man walked upright with a smile. He gave a firm handshake and spoke with an even firmer voice. He sat up straight and made direct eye contact with the interviewers throughout the conversation. The first man had a slightly better resume and more experience. However, the interviewer hired the second man because he saw he possessed the perfect amount of confidence. 

Today we’ll study the importance of both confidence and humility in the life and success of a man of God. 

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Part 1: Develop Confidence

How comfortable do you feel...

• speaking in front of a group?

• introducing yourself to strangers?

• answering questions in front of a class?

• speaking with someone you know is richer or more educated? 

• bringing up church to your friends who don’t believe?

• talking about Jesus to complete strangers?

Our comfort level during these situations may be a sign of how confident we feel. Confidence is a feeling of assuredness and security that you are enough, have enough, or know enough for things to turn out alright. 

Are you a confident person? When are you most confident? What gives you confidence?

It’s good to have confidence. The right kind of confidence can help you develop relationships, create new opportunities, and brave difficult situations. Confidence is so attractive that we sometimes try to act more confident than we truly are. Sometimes we’re lucky enough to fake it until we make it. However, it’s difficult to fake confidence for long periods at a time. 

Another form of false confidence is when we have confidence in the wrong people or things, or we have confidence in ourselves for all the wrong reasons. 

“Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there.” -Psalm 146:3

“Those who trust in riches will be ruined, but a good person will be healthy like a green leaf.” -Proverbs 11:28

“This was so that your faith would be in God’s power and not in human wisdom.” 1 Corinthians 2:5

True confidence is in and from God. God is faithful and worthy of our confidence. 

“It is better to trust the Lord than to trust people.” -Psalm 118:8

“For the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.” -Proverbs 3:26

We can know with confidence that God hears our prayers.

"And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us."-1 John 5:14

We can also have confidence in ourselves when we're walking with God. 

“I can do all things through Christ, because he gives me strength.” -Philippians 4:13

“If God is for us, no one can defeat us.” -Romans 8:31

Part 2: Practice Humility

It’s important to complement our confidence with a healthy dose of humility. It’s been said…

• Confidence without humility is arrogance.

• Humility without confidence is weakness.

We want to find the perfect blend of both confidence and humility. First, let’s remember what humility is.  

Being humble doesn’t mean thinking less of yourself. It means thinking of yourself less… viewing life through the proper “I am third” point-of-view. As we discussed in a previous lesson, God wants us to be humble. If we cannot humble ourselves, he’ll do it for us. 

“Whoever makes himself great will be made humble. Whoever makes himself humble will be made great.” -Matthew 23:13

So how do we develop confident humility? It may be best to work in reverse order. We first need to humble ourselves by remembering it doesn’t matter how we compare to other people. What matters is that we have fallen short of God’s glory.

“Each person should judge his own actions and not compare himself with others.” -Galatians 6:4

“Everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard, and all need to be made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift.” -Romans 3:23-24

This truth leaves nothing to boast about other than what Jesus has done for us. 

“The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is my only reason for bragging.”-Galatians 6:14

Once we have reached humility, the best ingredient for confidence is experience. The more we experience and remember God’s greatness and faithfulness; the more confidence we’ll have in Him. 

“Give thanks to the Lord and pray to him. Tell the nations what he has done. Remember the miracles he has done; remember his wonders and his decisions.” -Psalm 105:1, 5

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Conclusion

A man of God develops and practices confident humility.