Finding Confidence in God

Psalm 25 is an example of David expressing his confidence in God to God:

In you, Lord my God,

      I put my trust. (v. 1 NIV)

It’s a good thing to say aloud in God’s presence. I began to express my confidence in God more than forty years ago when I was a high school student. I had barely the faintest idea of just how reliable and faithful God would be in my life.

Today, I can offer such words of confident praise from deeper experience and insight. I have experienced the unfailing trustworthiness of Jesus in my own lifetime and again. I have witnessed the work of His hands in the lives of so many others around me. I’ve come to be deeply confident that Christ can be fully trusted.

When feelings of anxiety arise in me, I find it easier now than I once did to orient my heart toward God-with-me and offer simple words of confident appreciation.

I trust in you;
      do not let me be put to shame,
      nor let my enemies triumph over me.
No one who hopes in you
      will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
      who are treacherous without cause. (vv. 2–3)

Sometimes when I remember that I’m in the presence of God, I may also become aware of some way in which I’ve come up short or even crossed a line in my life. I may feel shame, and shame then tempts me to try hiding myself from God and others. I fear dishonor or disgrace. Even in my felt guilt or shame, I come into the presence of One who is merciful, gracious, loving, and forgiving. I receive grace in place of shame. I receive the affection of God in place of the temptation to see myself as eminently rejectable.

God is inviting us to recognize his faithfulness. God is welcoming us to find ourselves at home in his mercy and grace. Let’s rest deeper in this very good place.

Reflection Questions 

In what or whom are you putting your trust these days? What messages are you believing that are shaping your decisions, words, and actions? Are there ways you’d like to follow David’s example here and “put your trust in God?”

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash