Christ-confidence, Not Self-confidence

Philippians 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

   This verse is teaching us that I can do anything God wants me to do through his power and help.  Today, I can face life with confidence, and face my work with confidence because I know that, “I can through Christ.”  While this promise of God shows that He will give us the ability to do anything he asks of us, we, also, learn that it is not in my power, but in His.

   “I Can do All Things” – that is confidence.  But in what is my confidence, in myself?  NO.  Is it in my abilities?  NO.  People want you to say, I can do it on my own, I am strong, I have power in me, and I am self-confident.  But this is not a biblical philosophy.  This is actually weak, and limited, because we are simply human.  What God can do, and what I can do cannot even be compared.

  High-Striker Ill:  Have you ever seen at a fair, those games where you swing a sledge hammer and try to ring the bell at the top of the pole.  The more muscle and power you put behind that hammer, the higher it goes.  Just see the scrawny, little thirteen year old boy with his friends standing behind him cheering him on, as he swings with all his might.  Even though he knows he is the toughest one of the bunch, and they are cheering him on, and he has all the confidence in the world, still he is limited in what he can do.  And try and try as he may, he cannot ring the bell.  Right behind him is a big, lumberjack of a man, whose arms are wider than that boy’s chest.  When he picks up the hammer with ease, and sends it crashing down with a mighty blow, it rings the bell so loud, the people wonder if it will break.

   That is what I mean when I speak of our limitations, and God’s ability.  No matter how hard we try, and how much self-confidence we have, we are limited.  But the Lord, with ease, can do those things that are impossible for us.  When we allow ourselves to be the single source of strength and power in our life, we can only do so much.  But with the Lord, all things are possible.  He is so much greater than we are.  How silly to limit ourselves by saying, I can do it in my power, when we are told that the Lord can give us his power, and help.

   Some insist on being self-confident and they will feel good until they reach their limitations.  But Christians must learn to be Christ-confident, by claiming verses like this one, and saying, “I can through Christ.”

Pastor S. Borner