The Proverbial Woman

I seem to make friends at the grocery store, usually in the age 70-90 range.  Often they are drawn in by the blue-eyed sprite in my grocery cart, but sometimes it is because I stop to help them reach something or prevent a refrigerator door from eating them as they get their milk.  I realized one day that I love them, those people that the rest of the world seems to have forgotten.  Then I realized something else—I inherited that cherishing of experienced humanity from my mother. 

Society has a horrible way of judging people loveable based on their age, looks, and abilities.  The elderly or challenged need not apply. It’s despicable.  It’s also ignorant.  Wisdom really does come with age, and I’ve met challenged individuals with better dispositions and more freely extended love than many of the alleged perfect folks.  Society is missing out, but not my mother.  I’m pretty sure she hasn’t met an older person she doesn’t love.  I’ve seen her show patience, kindness, and care to the challenged all my life.  When I found myself being like my mother in this most wonderful way, I stopped short and asked myself, “Thirty years from now, what trait will my children exhibit and realize they learned it from me?”

What a sobering thought. What a terrifying one.  I am not a perfect parent.  Some days I wonder how I made the cut. I feel like I’m running full speed through a dark maze sans guide or map.  I feel an enormous amount of fear that society will imprint my children’s minds more than I will.  I can’t let that happen. So I turned to the book of Proverbs for some advice.   What I found there was an interesting urging toward leading by example.  No passionate speeches, only powerful living.

In Proverbs 31, after posing the question, “Who can find a virtuous woman?” the attributes of said woman are outlined as such:

v  Her husband finds her trustworthy and she treats him well (v. 11-12).  This is not to be taken lightly.  Your relationship with your spouse is integral to creating a stable family environment. I’ve seen some women treat their husbands despicably and disrespectfully.  And the children take their cue from her—not just on how to treat a spouse, but on how to treat other individuals.  If you do it at home, your children will emulate it elsewhere.  Watch your step.

 

v  She works willingly, sacrificing even sleep so that her family can eat. Because of her industriousness, she does not worry when things don’t go as planned. She has already made provision for her family (v. 13-15, 21-22, 27).  Be industrious. Taking care of a family is serious business.  When I was 15 and thought I wanted 6 kids, I had no idea what that would entail!  Thank goodness I only had 3!!  Plan ahead.  You will save a lot of needless anxiety.  You don’t have to be a hoarder or stockpile a year’s worth of goods.  Just be a Boy Scout—be prepared.

 

v  She comprehends and practices intelligent money management and uses her investments wisely to increase her gains and provide for her family (v.16-19).  I’m not an investor.  I don’t have the head for it.  But I can stretch a dollar until it screams.  I think we all understand proper money management; we just don’t all practice it.  However, if you practice proper money management, you will find that performing the previous requirement of being prepared is a lot easier!

 

v  She helps the poor and needy (v. 20). James 1:27 tells us that one way to show pure religion is by visiting the fatherless and widows in their affliction. It doesn’t say to mail a check to charity.  It says to meet them where they are.  It says to get down in the trenches with them.  There’s no shortage of needy in our world.  Find your place to help and do it.  Remember that there, but for the grace of God, go you.

 

v  Because her character is without reproach, her husband receives greater respect among his peers (v. 23) I had to do a little research on this verse to make sure I was keeping in context.  It appears I was. The idea is that by doing her duties, being prosperous, trustworthy, respectful, and kind, the woman creates an even greater respectability for her husband among his peers.  Notice that it says nothing about her flawless beauty, delightful conversational skills, or charming wit.  True respect is gained by true character. 

 

v    Finally, she speaks in wisdom and kindness (v. 26). It’s so easy to just talk and let the chips fall where they may.  Guarding your tongue is much more difficult than it sounds.  Failure to do so can result in a tarnished reputation, damaged relationships, and even isolation. James 3:6 tells us that the tongue can defile the whole body, and James 1:19 instructs us to be quick to listen but slow to speak. So measure your words and allow wisdom and kindness to guide them. 

So there you have it--a guide to being the Proverbial virtuous woman.  Contrary to society’s opinion, this woman who builds the next generation is not necessarily beautiful, wealthy, or influential.  No, she is family oriented; using all of her efforts to ensure her family is well cared for.  She is an example of true Christianity in kindness and conversation.  She understands the fear of the Lord and exhibits it by living a Godly life.  In return, the Lord blesses her family.  Her children learn how to conduct themselves in a proper manner, how to be productive, how to treat others. Her sons learn what to look for in a wife and her daughters learn what to be as a wife.  As they mature, they realize how blessed they are to have her influence in their lives.

Who knew our actions, not our words, are the most important part of raising children?  It’s not a bunch of endless chatter and harping that forms their ideals, it’s simply how we act and react.  What we do today imprints the minds of our children and determines the values, morals and ethics by which they will live their lives. Properly imprinting the minds of our children is as simple as embodying the Proverbial woman. 

But don’t let your guard down; it’s not easy being an old-fashioned woman in a new-fashioned age.  Some days I’m not sure I’m up to the challenge.  But I am diligently striving to be a Proverbial woman.  I am working to imprint my children with love, kindness, responsibility and morality.  I pray that 30 years from now they will find themselves loving the unlovable, speaking words of kindness to a frazzled soul, helping someone less fortunate, or simply keeping to the high road and they will look back, as I do now, and say, “I learned this from my mother.”

Praying the Lord’s Prayer

Have you ever wondered what prompted the disciples to ask, “Lord, teach us to pray”? (Luke 11:1 KJV) Were they too distracted watching Jesus work that they couldn’t focus on how to talk to the Father? Did they sense complacency in their spirits because Jesus was physically present? Realizing that he would not always be with them physically, did they sense a need to prepare for the time when he wouldn’t be there? Whatever the reason, I’m glad they asked.  I’m even more thrilled with the answer they received—the epic words we know as “The Lord’s Prayer” (Luke 11:2-4, Matthew 6:9-13) are a phenomenal framework for daily devotion.

Even if the disciples weren’t distracted or complacent, I sometimes am.  I’m human. I get busy and harried.  I pray on the run. However, a couple months ago, I felt challenged to pray a personalized version of this prayer every day for 30 days. It changed my life.  It strengthened my soul.  Those 30 days were up over a month ago, and I find myself still turning to that model.   Everything I need for every day is wrapped up in this prayer.  Every day I followed the outline.  Every day I prayed the prayer.  Every day my soul grew stronger. Though my words were different daily, the progression was the same.

My Father in Heaven, your name is safety. The writer of Proverbs said that the name of the Lord is a strong tower and place of safety for the righteous (18:10).  Thank you for the safety you provide to those who follow you.  I am in awe of your care for me.    

Because your kingdom is where your will is done, I ask that you would establish your kingdom in my life.  Help me to be open to your will that you may work through me to prosper your kingdom in this world.

Father, you know what this day holds.  Please give me the strength to get through this day.  You know those of my friends and family who are facing obstacles today.  Please give them strength and courage to make it through this day, too.  Help us to trust you with each part of our day.

Lord, help me to have a loving and forgiving spirit toward others.  Make love and forgiveness my first response.  Do not let me harbor ill will. Help me to remember that I have needed forgiveness too and to offer it freely.  Help me to love others as you love them and to forgive as I would want to be forgiven. 

Please help me not to be tempted to sin today.  However, if I am, please grant me the spiritual fortitude to withstand temptation and be victorious. Deliver me from evil.

For all that you do in my life, for every opportunity I have to forward your kingdom, for every strength of soul and spirit you offer me today, the honor, glory and praise will always be yours. Amen.

So this month, I’m passing along the challenge—30 days of praying your own version of The Lord’s Prayer.  It’s simple. Begin by praising God, acknowledging his magnificence and reminding yourself of his ability to care for you. Unrestrictedly offer yourself to his service.  Acknowledge your humanity and humbly accept his help for that day. Ask that he fill you with his spirit and that his attributes will flow through you, touching others.  Be sure to give Satan his morning kick in the teeth by asking God to make you triumphant against temptation.  At any point, when you think of someone who may be struggling with something addressed in this prayer, mention them too.  And always end by giving the praise for any accomplishments to God because without his grace you’d be lost.  

I encourage you to keep a prayer journal and read over your prayers from time to time.  I hope that praying this prayer makes you more cognizant of God’s help, more willing to rely on him, and more triumphant against the messengers Satan sends to buffet you. Ultimately, I pray that you will feel yourself encouraged, strengthened, and more in love with Jesus as you pray in the manner he told us to model.  I promise your life will never be the same.  Live blessed!

 

**This idea came to me while taking a Bible class years ago, so I share credit for this segment with the teacher--my incredible earthly father.  Thanks, Daddy, for teaching a wonderful concept that has stuck even after all these years.  Perhaps someday we’ll write a book together!!

The Cross Keeper

It springs out of nowhere, that gigantic white cross by the side of the road. It’s an enormous reminder of a bigger-than-life moment when the antidote for sin was made readily available.  It is a reminder of infinite love, inexhaustible mercy, undeserved pardon, and amazing grace.  Today, it reminds me to forgive.  My heart has been wounded.  My child’s tender emotions have been needlessly tangled.  My world feels unstable.  I am emotionally bruised and battered. Yet amid the frustration, terror, pain and angst that seem to take turns battering my heart, the picture of the cross reminds me to forgive. 

A little over a month ago I felt compelled to pray a personalized version of The Lord’s Prayer every day for 30 days.  Remember the part where it says, “…forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors”? (Matthew 6:12) Well, every day for a month I prayed that God would help me to have a loving, forgiving spirit toward others.  I didn’t know that God was preparing my heart to endure hardness as a good soldier.  I didn’t know that on February 14, God began preparing me for the deep waters of March 19.  I didn’t see it then, but now I see that God was preparing me to forgive.

You see, I can’t afford not to forgive.  I can’t let the fear turn into bitterness that hardens my soul.  I can’t allow the frustration to boil over into unkind words or actions that don’t emulate Jesus.  I can’t allow hate, anger, and pain to cloud my judgment and keep me from seeing my final destination. I can allow nothing to separate me from Jesus. My relationship with him is just too important to me. Failing to forgive is just too costly.

Most of us either have been or are currently in the throes of forgiving someone who wronged us.  For some of us, it feels like the road to recovery is insufferably long, the path to forgiveness too rough.  Jesus gets that.  He travelled a long, arduous road up to Golgotha, but he did it because his relationship with us was too important to him.  Failing to offer us forgiveness would have been too costly.  He died that we might know the joy of being forgiven and the peace that comes by forgiving others.  The cross is my reminder to forgive.

A short distance before the enormous cross by the side of the road is a driveway titled “Cross Keeper Lane”.  The title urges me to embody the messages of the cross—love and forgiveness.  For some time now the combination of the cross and the sign has challenged me to be a Cross Keeper.  It speaks to me of loving others unconditionally.  It tells me to offer unlimited forgiveness.  But it is not easy.  I struggle.  Not everyone is readily lovable.  I do not always readily forgive.  But I am learning and growing.  As I continue to pray for a loving, forgiving spirit, I realize that I am becoming a Cross Keeper.  

You know, you can’t afford not to forgive.  Eventually it sucks the life from you, hardens your heart, and makes you view the world with a jaundiced eye.  Jesus is calling you to be a Cross Keeper.  He is calling you to love the unlovable, and forgive the unforgivable.  Just as he made the arduous journey up Golgotha to provide you with the joy of forgiveness, he asks that you make the monumental effort to forgive others that you might know peace.  He loved you too much to fail to provide forgiveness for your sins, no matter what they were. Do you love him enough to love and forgive others no matter what?  Do you love Jesus enough to carry on the messages of the cross?  Are you a Cross Keeper?

Losing the Weights

We are obsessed with weight loss.  Seriously, how many products are now available to “melt the pounds away”? We seem to equate a slimmer us with a stronger self esteem, a brighter outlook on life and, all in all, a more promising future.  Do we ever take the time to consider the other weights in our lives?  The ones we can’t drop in the gym. Those invisible weights that secretly scar our self image, overshadow our outlook, fill us with fear, and spoil our spirituality.  Yeah—those weights.

 It doesn’t take much effort to find people that are weighted down. For many of us it is a quick look in the mirror.  Life often hands us lemons and those tart experiences have built up until we are carrying scores of emotional pounds named guilt, grief, bitterness, hurt, fear, and failure.  Our hearts all bear the scars of previous wounds. They hurt. They irritate. They deprive us of peace.  Ultimately, they keep us from the fantastically freeing adventure of a lifetime of enthusiastic abandonment to God.

The author of Hebrews knew about those weights.  In Hebrews 12:1 he writes, “…let us lay aside every weight, and…run with patience the race that is set before us” (KJV).  Oh, yeah, he knew about the weights.  Those sneaky things Satan throws up to us don’t immediately stop our forward momentum but they slow it a little at a time.  The guilt of a past indiscretion. The hurt of an endured misdeed. The shadow of a past failure.  One by one they come to mind.  One by one they pile on.  And, one by one, our steps slow.  Our race lane becomes crowded with weights to the point we can no longer run unless we throw them all to the side. 

And we must. It’s impossible to finish the race while carrying the weights.  We have to stop allowing the guilt of past failures—both our own and others—to entrench us in bitter grief and bury us in hurt and fear. The weights don’t make us stronger, more focused, or less likely to err.  No.  Instead, they hold us back.  They make us vulnerable, weaken our resolve, and create distance between us and Jesus. They must be thrown away. We must give them to God who has no problem throwing them in the dumpster. They belong there.  Though the incidents that forged those weights may have helped create the race before us (and some of its detours), they don’t get to come along for the ride. Your race lane has no cargo space.

So brace yourself and do what it takes to drop the weight.  Forgive-yourself and others.  Accept-both the errors of the past and the forgiveness of God.  Change-leave the weights behind, they don’t enhance your faith, they erode it.  Heal-realize that the scars don’t make you broken, they make you stronger. Don’t pick the weight back up again—ever. Carrying it does you no favors. Don’t let the past keep you from the freedom of your future with God.  Run your race with wild abandon. You are God’s child. Forgiven. Accepted. Healed. Changed. Unencumbered. Don’t let anyone ever tell you differently. Run freely.

Trial of Faith

Why don’t we have faith in the epic power of God?  We believe the concept, but not the principle.  We ask in prayer for things, sometimes huge things, but our faith is often stymied by our disbelief in the power of God.  I don’t think it is that we think He can’t do something so much as we are afraid he won’t.  So we have taken up a course of “wait and see” praying.  It’s like we are testing God to see if he will stand up to his reputation. 

The idea is ridiculous, but not less true because of its ridiculousness. However, if you are among those administering the test, let me save you some time.  I can tell you that God does live up to his reputation because I have been at the point where my faith, such as it was, was all I had. Human resources were exhausted. There was nothing but me, my faith, and my God. When faith in God was all I had, I found out it was all I needed. As a result, I have personally experienced the epic power of God.  

When my husband retired from the military and began searching for a job, I learned the biggest lessons in faith I had ever learned.  Mostly, I learned that the faith we claim when things are simple is exquisitely insufficient when times are tough.  It is one thing to sing, “Faith is the victory” and quite another to fight for enough strength to invest in keeping the faith and hoping for a victory.  But as the days passed and the interviews ended without an offer, the strength ebbed and courage waned.  My faith did the same. 

            I spent nearly five months of that year fighting soul wrenching battles.  The ups and downs of life were nearly unbearable.  There were monumental mountaintops where I would calmly state, “God is going to take care of us.”  And I knew with surety he would.  He had promised.  Inevitably, those mountaintops were separated by unimaginably deep, dark valleys.

There were devastating downhill slides when my mind was bombarded with terrifying scenarios of our future. Of course, I had specific ideas of how God could rectify each scenario.  The answer to this was the soft whisper of I Samuel 12:16, “Now stand back and see this great thing, which the Lord will do before your eyes.” Relax. Stop the frenzy. Just hang out and watch the amazing thing God is going to do.

On the heels of those slides I would traverse dark, treacherous valleys of panic that said God was laughing at me, refusing to do something about my desperate need. I lashed out at myself, disgusted that I was such a horrible, unlovable person that God would leave us like this. I had tried so hard to please him, to have faith. I wondered what I had done wrong for Him to ignore me and not immediately heal my pressing need. Ultimately, I would lash out at God. He could do something if he wanted to, but I saw no great lightning bolts, heard no thunderous voice, saw no miraculous answers.  It seemed he wasn’t answering, and if that was true, what did that say about his character?

Those valleys were undoubtedly the most difficult. It was there I realized the slight stature of my faith.  It was devastating. I realized I was trying to manipulate God into fixing my problem with the answer I thought was best.  There is no faith in that.  Faith is trusting that the one who knows me better than I know myself, who loves my family more than I do, who can see the future and what lies therein is going to take care of us.  The valley taught me that the author of Hebrews knew what he was talking about. Faith really is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of unseen things.

The answer to my question of God’s character was revealed in his response to my pulsating wails.  He understood me enough to know that my juvenile faith required gentle care and showed me the words of Deuteronomy 33:27, “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms…”  And there my faith found a refuge from the hideous, taunting voices that echoed through those valleys.  God’s arms would always be there. He would always take care of us.  And we came out of the darkness of the valley –together. 

Chances are you are floundering in your own terrifying valley right now.  Or you have in the past.  You feel helpless.  Your endurance is gone.  You’ve been praying and watching for your miracle only to be stuck with episode after episode of unfortunate circumstances.  Your faith wanes, you are emotionally destitute and physically worn.  You want to throw your hands up in defeat, but something urges you not to be hasty.  Faith says the answer is still coming.

And it is.  It may take longer than we like.  Questions may be more prolific than answers. We may be more scared than we have ever been in our lives. But when things are spiraling out of control and it seems we could do a better job on our own, it takes an act of faith to sit back and simply trust that the God who rides the Heavens to help his people (Deut. 33:26)  has our best interest in mind . (Jeremiah 29:11)

In the end, faith pays off.  Steadfastness is rewarded.  Blessings do come. We end up stronger individuals because of the journey. Eventually, God led my family out into the place he wanted us to be.  The timing of every piece of the puzzle was too perfect to even imagine anyone but God orchestrated it.  I’m stronger for the trying of my faith. I look around and know that I am further down the road for keeping the faith than I would have been had I caved to the pressure of Satan. 

             You will be too. Don’t let the darkness of the valley fool you. Don’t let the taunting voices throw you off track.  Don’t let your faith nosedive because the answer wasn’t what you wanted or didn’t come as quickly as you hoped.  Hold on to your faith.  Trust God to move your mountain. Watch the epic power of God work on your behalf. When you feel that your mustard seed faith is all you have, you will find it is all you need.

Diligent Searching

With Christmas upon us, I have found myself pondering the command given the wise men searching for the Christ child.  Sent on an errand by Herod, a man terrified of losing his reign to an infant, they put their trust in a star that led them to the single greatest moment of their lives. Can you imagine their journey? How long did it take? Months? Years?  Can you feel their excitement?  Their anticipation? Did you notice their single-mindedness?  How they continually searched until what they sought was found? I wonder if they had any idea how blessed they were to be the ones Herod told to “search diligently” (Matthew 2:8, KJV) for the Baby in the manger. 

I am certain Herod never intended to give a mandate concerning Jesus that would so profoundly resonate through time. Those words are still the best instruction given. They should be our daily directive. Diligently seek to find Jesus. Don’t quit looking. Don’t be distracted. Look everywhere.  Don’t discount anyone or anything. (How different would the story be if the wise men had ignored that star!) Search diligently.  Find him. Find Christ.

For us, the search is not for a baby, but for the gentle whisper of Christ in every aspect of our lives, every individual we encounter, every circumstance we face.  It is seeing him when we look out the window and see weather that keeps us housebound.  It is searching for him when the whole family is struck with the flu at the same time.  It is in the unshakeable faith that he is there even when we don’t readily see him, and the constant searching to see his hand, his face, his heart.

When I read those words, I hear a call for us to embark on a journey to find Jesus. We must daily find him in our own hearts.  I’ll be honest. I get busy, harried.  Sometimes I pray on the run and read a Psalm after the kids are in bed.  It becomes a little like checking a box rather than a special time of searching out a new promise or dwelling on an old truth. The image of Jesus imprinted in my head becomes clouded, his voice a little muffled.  And I realize that I haven’t been diligently searching, seeking to stay in close contact with him.  Thankfully, the truth of Jeremiah 29:13, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (KJV) and echoed in Luke 11:9, “…seek, and ye shall find…” (KJV) still applies. The God seeker is rewarded. Those who seek Him find true treasure. 

It is also a call to search out Jesus’ heart for the people around us. What do we see when we look at the people around us? When we see the rude lady at the supermarket, the homeless man on the corner, or the prostitute in the bowels of her own hell, do we see people lovingly crafted by God or do we totally discount Genesis 1:27 where it says that God made man in his own image? Do we see people as treasures beloved by God? Do we love them because Jesus does?

 It may take diligent searching to see Jesus around us. We don’t readily see him in ragamuffin humanity. His image may be dim, but he is there. We must seek to have a heart like Jesus. We must love those individuals crafted in God’s image who find themselves on a less than stellar path. It is in seeing that soul as lovable that we have truly found the image of Jesus we were seeking. It is in loving that soul that we have truly found God’s heart.

 And so it is a journey of building blocks.  To see Jesus around us, we must first diligently seek him with our whole hearts.  We must never give up the search to find more of Jesus. Once we find him, we must not let go. We must diligently search every face for traces of God.  Where we see no trace, we must become his hands and feet.  It is not a journey for the faint of heart.  It is a lifelong dedication to intimately know and enact the heart of Christ.

So this Christmas, I want to diligently seek Jesus and be rewarded by that great find. I want to find him in myself, my life, my world. I resolve to seek him diligently in the coming year.  I pray that my thoughts, words and actions portray the result of this diligent seeking. I urgently desire that I will be blessed with the opportunity to touch others who are seeking him too. For you, I pray that you will diligently seek Christ as the center of your Christmas, and that his presence will saturate your lives in the coming year.

Be blessed.

The Compliment of Confidence

I am unquenchably fascinated with the book of Job. You might even call it an addiction. Of the sixty-six books in the Bible, Job is, unequivocally, my favorite. I read it often. Each time finding something that challenges me to a more devoted relationship with Jesus. On a smaller scale, I often identify with Job—both his frustration with his circumstances and his refusal to deny his God. I aspire to reach his spiritual height. I strive to serve God with that amount of devotion. I am desperate to have God’s vote of confidence in my commitment to Him.

The first time I really locked on to the verse in Job 1:8, where God points out Job’s righteousness to Satan, I felt outraged that God would throw Job under the bus like that. It's almost like God was offering him up to be tested. God even chatted him up a little. Listed his attributes. In God’s words, Job was perfect, feared God, and shunned sin. Satan couldn’t wait to get his hands on him. Can you imagine the overwhelming sense of abandonment Job must have felt? He lost his possessions, his livelihood, his children. And while he didn't quit the faith, he didn’t see the trial for the fantastic moment that it was either. That giant list of horrific events blocked his view of what God was truly saying.

It took me a bit, but I finally saw it for what it was—the greatest compliment ever bestowed. God cast a vote of confidence in Job’s level of commitment to Him. God knew that Job was so committed to Him, so in love with Him, so devoted to their relationship that nothing could destroy it. Job's faithful response to his trial embodied the then unwritten words of I Corinthians 10:13 where we are promised that God won’t let us be tempted more than he’ll give us the strength to withstand. He was condemned by his friends and encouraged by his wife to quit the faith, yet Job upheld his commitment to God even when it got so ugly he couldn’t stand himself. In return God gave Job the strength to endure, wrapped up in one giant unspoken compliment. The compliment of God's confidence in Job's commitment to him. And just like that the trial of Job goes down as one of Satan’s epic failures, an attempt foiled before it had even begun.

The story stirs my being. I rarely see my trials as compliments. I am often beleaguered by doubt and feel like I am fighting the battle alone. When I am trapped in a bottomless pit of trials, no escape in sight, I take refuge in the story of Job and find strength in the fact that God doesn’t give me more than he is able to help me endure. My resolve strengthens. I remember my goal. I seek to be one of Satan’s epic failures. I strive to maintain a bond with God that can withstand any test. I search to find the compliment in the confusion. I covet nothing more wholeheartedly than God’s vote of confidence. There is no greater compliment, no higher achievement, no loftier commendation. I find myself once again striving toward the mark. I long for God, who knows my innermost heart, to know that my commitment to him is not dependent upon clear skies and smooth seas. I pray that my commitment to God be strong enough to gain the compliment of his confidence.

So when you are stuck in the darkest part of your deepest valley hold fast the faith, remember that God doesn't give you more than his strength can help you handle, and he has complete confidence in your faithful commitment to him. Look diligently for the compliment in the confusion, and rest in the knowledge that God has more confidence in you than you have in yourself.