Confidence In God: Your Bold Assurance

Hebrews 11:1 TPT says, “Now faith brings our hopes into reality and becomes the foundation needed to acquire the things we long for. It is all the evidence required to prove what is still unseen.”

Friends, faith pleases God.

Faith is a persuasive power that works on our behalf.

God is faith-full. He is full of faith. God actually deposits His faith in His redeemed people as part of the fruit of His Spirit, living on the inside of us. In this way, God’s “substance of things hoped for” is made available to be received in our soul, as we trust Him.

God uses faith’s persuasive power to convince us of His will.

One Bible commentary (HELPS Word-Studies) says, “The Lord persuades the yielded believer to be confident in His preferred-will (Gal 5:10; 2 Tim 1:12).” It involves our “obedience, but it is properly the result of God’s persuasion.”

Philippians 2:13 AMP affirms this by saying, “For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.”

Friends, as we grow in faith, we walk in God’s higher ways. He gives us everything we need to be successful.

Paul says in Philippians 1:6 TPT “I pray with great faith for you, because I’m fully convinced that the One who began this glorious work in you will faithfully continue the process of maturing you and will put his finishing touches to it until the unveiling of our Lord Jesus Christ!”

So, friends, because of God’s unwavering faithfulness, we can choose to be fully confident in His will, His ways, and His Word.

The question is, “Do we choose obedience to His faithfulness?”

Do we even believe this?

Do we trust God?

Do we hearken to His instructions?

Do we believe He is good and that He desires His best for us?

Or do we shrink back in distrust and fear, and turn to other things for help?

Do we want our way above God’s way?

Confidence in God requires that we first be persuaded by faith that He is trustworthy.

Isaiah 30 illustrates the conflict in value between trusting and distrusting God:

Isaiah 30:7 reveals that the help the Israelites sought from Egypt, which represents wicked bondage in the Bible, is worthless. Consider this compared to the help from The Lord, who is worthy.

The outcome of choosing God’s way is guaranteed victory, whereas by-passing God for sinful bondage will lead to an outcome of disaster that shames and disgraces us, causing us to feel worthless and wanting to give up (Is 3, 5).

Friends, we are worth more than that (1 Jn 4:4).

God calls us His treasure and give us the advantage of holding our head up.

We can be confident and courageous in our decision to follow The Lord. But any action that is not founded on faith is sin and will lead to loss.

This includes fear-based decisions, where we lean toward what’s familiar to us—our own understanding—above God’s instructions.

It all resorts back to what we put our faith in.

When we put our faith in faithful God—the giver and Source of faith—above ourselves, we can rest in knowing that we can trust Him and that He will protect us as we obey Him.

We can have full confidence in our limitless, eternal God to keep us safe all the way to manifest victory.

Hebrews 3:6 TPT assures us by saying, “But Christ is more than a Servant, he was faithful as the Son in charge of God’s house. And now we are part of his house if we continue courageously to hold firmly to our bold confidence and our victorious hope.”

According to Strong’s concordance, Bold confidence, in this verse, makes reference to fearless confidence, cheerful courage, and freedom of speech. Victorious hope in this verse refers to expectation and trust.

To anticipate or welcome what is sure, what is certain (HELPS Word-studies).

Friends, this assurance of victory is our confident hope in Christ.

So, what are you trusting God for?

Is your confidence in Him above your circumstances?

It will be if your faith is in Him.

Pray with me, if you will…

Dear Heavenly Father,

You are my Treasure. Thank You for valuing me as treasure, so much so that You desire Your best for me in life. Lord, I repent of trusting my ways above Yours. I repent of leaning on my understanding, of self-reliance and self-justification. I trade in my self-reliance for Your bold assurance. I repent of all other forms of sinful bondage, and I renounce all agreement with falsehood that has come against my faith and confidence in You. Bring me deeper into Your truth, Lord. I invite You to flood my heart with Your confidence and strength (Pr 14:26). “For you are the confidence of all the earth” (Ps 65:5). Please help me to remain in You so that I “may have a joyful confidence and not be ashamed” (1 Jn 2:28). Thank You, Lord, for Your “confidence in times of crisis” and for keeping my “heart at rest in every situation” (Pr 3:26). Thank You that as I continue to believe, trust, and rely on You, and put my “hope and confident expectation” in You, I will be “blessed with spiritual security” (Jer 17:7).

In Jesus’ Mighty Name.

Amen.

Friends, I pray that God will persuade you that He is faithful and trustworthy in everything He calls you to. I pray “…that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith” (2 Th 1:11). I pray that as you continue to run to God, you will experience His “wrap-around presence every moment” and that your “confidence will never be shaken” (Ps 16:8). I pray that others will observe your confidence in The Lord and will be amazed (Acts 4:13). I pray for recompense for every time the enemy of your soul attacked your faith, confidence, trust, and courage in The Lord. I pray that your confident expectations will always be full of truth, faith in our Lord, and manifest victory.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name.

To God be the glory!

This video-devo was graciously re-posted by Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.

Crowned With Compassion: God’s Merciful & Mighty Move

Psalm 140:6 MSG reveals our desperate cry: “Listen, God! Mercy!”

And Psalm 138:3 TPT assures us that “At the very moment I called out to you, you answered me! You strengthened me deep within my soul and breathed fresh courage into me.”

Friends, our urgent voice can move God’s heart to extend mercy to us straightaway (Ps. 140:6 TPT).

In His mercy, God keeps reviving us by His might (Ps. 138:7).

God’s Word says, “He is so rich in compassion and mercy” (Eph. 2:4) and extends it according to His will (Rom. 9:15).

We know that the crossover to deeper compassion begins at the cross, the place of intersection where we exchange our limitations for His more beautiful betrothal.

Yes, God betroths us in compassion, which moves us toward faithfulness to His covenant (Hos. 2:19–20).

As His redeemed, we are seated and baptized in mercy. We are established in victory. After repentance, we are positioned to receive His best profitability, and we are re-launched (established). 

So, times of refreshing come after our repentance, after we turn away from our way and return to His (Acts 3:19-21). 

Consider the prodigal son (Lk. 11-32).

Upon his turn from the pig pen to home, His father was compassionate—deeply moved in His inward parts—to restore him to grace and truth. This story illustrates our Heavenly Father’s compassionate love for us, where He leans toward us (Eph. 2:8) and even runs to us.

As we run to God, He runs to us.

Luke 15:20 TPT says, “So the young son set off for home. From a long distance away, his father saw him coming, dressed as a beggar, and great compassion swelled up in his heart for his son who was returning home. So, the father raced out to meet him. He swept him up in his arms, hugged him dearly, and kissed him over and over with tender love.

In Psalm 69:16 TPT King David echoes this same precept by saying, “Oh, Lord God, answer my prayers! I need to see your tender kindness, your grace, your compassion, and your constant love. Just let me see your face, and turn your heart toward me. Come running quickly to your servant. In this deep distress, come and answer my prayer.” 

Friends, God literally “waits on high to have compassion on you” (Is. 30:18).

The moment we call out to Him, He answers.

God doesn’t leave us at dirty, guilty or ugly. He removes our sins. He redeems our “life from the pit and crowns” us “with love and compassion” (Ps. 103:4).

So, compassion is a crown.

God gives us beauty for the ashes we once endured, even if we caused them.

God is especially merciful toward the sins of our youth.

In Psalm 25:6, 11 TPT, King David prays, “Forgive my failures as a young man, and overlook the sins of my immaturity. Give me grace, Lord! Always look at me through your eyes of love—your forgiving eyes of mercy and compassion. When you think of me, see me as one you love and care for. How good you are to me! For the honor of your name, Lord, never count my sins, and forgive them all—lift their burden off of my life! Come closer to me now, Lord, for I need your mercy” (Ps. 25:16).

Matthew 11:28 TPT asks, “Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Then come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis.”

In His Presence, God lifts heavy burdens off of us, pours out His blessings upon us and strengthens our soul (Ps. 138:3). 

He transforms our lives as He brings us from darkness into His marvelous light.

Psalm 110:3 TPT assures us that “…in the brightness of your holy ones You will shine as an army rising from the womb of the dawn, anointed with the dew of your youth!”

This magnifies God and His Kingdom (Ps. 138:2).

Friends, God will fulfill the desires and dreams He put in us long ago, even ones we first knew were there in our teen years.

Psalm 126:4 TPT assures us, “Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again.”

God knows just how to do it right. He remembers His promises and is faithful to fulfill them in His time and way. 

So, it’s important to seek God, forgive ourselves and others, and receive His times of refreshing. 

David intimately knew the life-restoration of God’s compassionate forgiveness.

Psalm 130:4 says, “But your forgiving love is what makes you so wonderful. No wonder you are loved and worshiped!”

David knew God’s compassion for his revival. He said, “By your mighty power I can walk through any devastation and you will keep me alive, reviving me…” (Ps. 138:7 TPT).

David knew God as His only hero-source for rescue, as the provider of the ransom price for God’s people (Ps. 25:15, 17, 21-22).

Jesus was filled with compassion at the sight of wandering sheep (Mk. 6:34). He was and is gentle to the ignorant (Heb. 5:2). He restrains wrath and shows mercy (Ps. 78:38). He is the balanced mediator, the light in the darkness who forgives sin when we repent (Titus 3:4-5). 

With Him, there is only ultimate victory.

There is no pain in His tangible Presence.

With Him, there is no victimhood in compassion, because He dissolves pain and restores us from a place of victory.

As the author and the finisher, God offers us a full, complete healing experience beyond the pain of sin, trials, and testing to higher ground. So, He included the elements of breakthrough and completion in His great and tender compassion. 

God desires to show us the pleasant part of John 10:10. The part that says, “I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect—life in its fullness until you overflow!” This can only happen through faith in God, which pleases God.

Beloved, we can experience a fresh start, a new beginning that will lead to exponential blessings for us and beyond us as we continue to lean into our compassionate God and follow His lead.

Psalm 126:5-6 TPT assure us, “Those who sow their tears as seeds will reap a harvest with joyful shouts of glee. They may weep as they go out carrying their seed to sow, but they will return with joyful laughter and shouting with gladness as they bring back armloads of blessing and a harvest overflowing!”

Pray with me if you will…

Lord, “I bow down before your divine presence and bring you my deepest worship as I experience your tender love and your living truth. For the promises of your word and the fame of your name have been magnified above all else!” (Ps.138:2). “May my voice move your heart to show me mercy” (Ps. 140:6). 

I lay down every idol of unforgiveness toward myself and others. I choose to put Your way above my own. I invite You to rid me of any and all hindrances to Your great and tender mercy and compassion. If there is any wrongdoing in me that I need to repent of, please reveal it to me, so that times of refreshing may come to me. “Enrich my soul” in You, Lord, and “refresh my heart” in You (Ph.1:20). 

Thank You that Your “Light shines in the darkness for good people, for those who are merciful, kind, and just” (Ps. 112:4 GNT). Thank You that “At the very moment I called out to you, you answered me! You strengthened me deep within my soul and breathed fresh courage into me” (Ps. 138:3). 

Thank You for Your work of compassion in me that makes me useable for service in kindness without cruelty (Ps. 139:5). Thank You for clothing me in Your compassion so I can show mercy toward others, as You have shown it toward me (Col. 3:12, Lk. 6:36). Thank You for finishing the work You have begun in me (Ps. 138:8). Thank You for crowning me with Your compassion. 

Thank You for establishing (re-launching) me in greater blessings to be a blessing to Your Kingdom. In Jesus’ Mighty Name. Amen.

This video-devo was graciously re-posted by Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.