A Confident Heart: Week 6 - The Real Me

Before I was saved, I was extremely fearful, often depressed and way too angry. For a long time, that is who I thought I was. I didn't understand my potential in Christ because I didn't know Him yet. I wasn't sure how I could help anyone else, I mean, I couldn't even help myself.

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I remember when my friend, actually a girl I barely knew, invited me to church. I was so confused that I said yes without really realizing was I was agreeing too. But it seemed it was time for me to hear God's truth and how it applied to me because Jesus gripped me almost immediately and He wasn't letting go. I began to understand that God had a purpose for me and it wasn't being trapped in depression. I slowly began to break free in a way only God can do. I began to see what freedom in Christ really meant.

John 8:36 -- "So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free."

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However, this wasn't the end of my struggles. Now, I knew Christ, but I was also always looking for the acceptance of the people around me. I wanted other to like me so I could then like myself. Just as I began to step out into my freedom, I found myself trapped in another kind of bondage.

Galatians 5:1 -- "So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law."

It was hard for me to find the real me because I was to insecure to ask the right questions of myself or that I was anything special to begin with. However, through this time, God knew my heart and walked with me as I navigated the slippery slope of gaining confidence in Christ. Sometimes I had abundance and other times I was full of doubts.

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Joshua 1:9 -- "This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

The Lord calls you to be strong and courageous and to not be afraid. But He also promises to be with you wherever you go. I rested on this verse, I spoke this verse over my life for many years and I still have reminders up around my house of this truth.

Over several years, God sent my people who would build me up in faith and who would show me how to find confidence in the Lord. One of those people was my now husband. He found me when I was still broken, a believer, but not a confident one. The first Christmas when we were still dating, he gave me a Bible with the promise that we would find the answers I was looking for together. And we have been, for over eight years now.

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God does not just give us a calling and says, "good luck." No, He gives us the details, the direction, the resources, people to challenge and encourage you and He walks beside you through all of the doubts to bring us confidence through the faithful deliverance of His promises.

Even now, I still have to stop and remember who the real me is, but now I know it is in the Lord Jesus Christ. I know I have a purpose and a calling to reach out to others through teaching and testimony. I know that I am meant for more than fear and depression. I am a beloved child of God who knows peace through His grace and joy through His love.

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The real me can do anything through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13). I am confident in a God who loves me faithfully (Psalm 117:2).

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This inspiration comes from a 

Bible study I am doing through 

Proverbs 31 Ministries on 

"A Confident Heart" 

by Renee Swope.

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