Copyright 2014 Theresa Harvard Johnson
Believing in who God has called you to be is not necessarily being prideful or arrogant.
Walking in and walking out who God has called you to be is not prideful or arrogant.
Acknowledging who God has called you to be is not prideful or arrogant.
Pause.
First, let those three sentences sink into your spirit and saturate there.
Next, let’s take a look at some basic definitions of pride and arrogance. Pride is deep rooted self-admiration tied to one’s view of their own achievements, twisted personal power or even one’s own abilities, gifts and talents. It is literally stepping into a role in which a person becomes their own God. Arrogance is the elevation of pride that causes a person to feel and exhibit feelings of extreme self-importance in which they respond to others and the world out of a “god-like” mentality. They demand a level of service that is completely selfish and self-centered. (Psychology Today Magazine has an excellent article that distinguishes between the two entitled, The Key Difference Between Pride and Arrogance. See footnotes at the bottom of this article to explain other characteristics of this article.)[1]
Without hesitation, most of us are aware of the popular “pride and arrogance” scriptures in the bible. Among them are Galatians 6:3; Deuteronomy 8:17-18; Isaiah 16:6; Philippians 2:3, etc.
What our Father wants you to know is this: Godly confidence is the product of meekness and humility.
Now, let’s look at humility and meekness. Oh, did I struggle with understanding this in my walk with the Lord! Humility can be defined as having a right view of who you are in light of your identity in Messiah. One of the best references to this can be seen in the biblical discourse concerning favoritism which is taught in details in James 2. Please read this in its entirety. Meekness, therefore, can be defined as the measure of servanthood exemplified in the midst of one’s humility. It is literally the “servanthood behavior” associated with our walk of humility.
Christ is the perfect example of this! He walked in great GODLY CONFIDENCE with the fruit of humility and meekness. Listen people of God, I am writing this article not saying I have attained perfection in these areas; but from a place of pursuit that I can be fully effective in my specific ministry calling and life in Christ.
False humility is the EXTREME of humility! It is literally the deliberate act of downplaying one’s significance or importance to “appear humble” or to try to “act humble.” Without hesitation, I know that this was a place that I walked in for a long time. I thought that “lowering myself” to an extreme measure was actually operating in humility. Boy was I wrong! I had to realize that I was still operating in what the world calls “low self-esteem,” which is really lack of identity in Christ, and “pride” at the same time! I was a “humpback” Pharisee! (Look it up and study it out, it will bless you.)
People of God, we are not called to false humility… but to confidence in Christ. Take a look at this powerful chart that differentiates between false humility, humility and pride posted here.[2]
Our central scripture is Philippians 4:13. In this letter written by the Apostle Paul, he shared a very important sentiment with the people. He said, “I can do all things through him who gives me power.”
This is a powerful statement of CONFIDENCE. In it, Paul is revealing that he:
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Understood WHO he was in Christ.
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Accepted his identity in Christ – whatever that looked like to him and God, without apology.
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Had measure of surety or a guarantee from Christ concerning his purpose and destiny.
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Had clear understanding concerning the source of his power.
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Was fully capable of carrying out and completing the requirements of his ministry with Christ.
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Had the authority to move forward in his specific purpose through Christ.
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Received power from Christ alone — not himself or any man.
In short, this apostle has unwavering and full CONFIDENCE in Christ who is within him. There is no room or place of doubt in his life. As a result, he can speak, move, release and do all that God has ordained for him to do and HOW God has ordained him to do it! I am sure the way Paul walked out his ministry to the gentiles was in perfect alignment with his specific instructions from God. You can probably say the same for the ministry entrusted to you!
Paul boldly and unapologetically walked out his ministry before God and men – with integrity and truth. So much so, that when he was under heavy attack by the Judaizers, false teachers and other persecutors he boldly defended his calling and ministry before the people of God whom he had led to Christ. Was this an act of arrogance in view of his entire ministry purpose, destiny and call? Or was this the response of a man whose heart literally walked in the boldness and confidence of Christ? Now, I want you to consider our ultimate example of Godly confidence: Christ. He literally said to us: “This is who I am. This is what I came to do. This is who sent me.” He also confirmed himself as the Son of the Living God and made sure that his disciples recognized his God-sent objective and purpose!
He did these things in meekness and humility.
People of God, every man and woman of God from Genesis to Revelations ultimately came to walk in this type of confidence. Our Father is calling you to fully recognize who you are in him, and accept your portion of confidence. Again, this journey of confidence might not look like MY PROCESS or PAUL’S PROCESS. You must follow the design that is set for you…. as we are all different, and have different assignments in God’s army.
One of the most powerful scriptures to sum up our conversation is found in 2 Corinthians 3 CJB. It reads: “You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You make it clear that you are a letter from the Messiah placed in our care, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets but on human hearts. Such is the confidence we have through the Messiah toward God.”
Part III: The Purpose of Confidence & How To Embrace It
In this article, we will address why confidence is so critical to your walk with God; and release three or four steps to securing it.
In this article, we will address why confidence is so critical to your walk with God; and release three or four steps to securing it.
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[1]In the article, The Key Difference Between Pride and Arrogance, by Psychology Today Magazine note the use of the term “authentic pride.” While this article is not biblically based, this terminology is really reference to healthy type of confidence.
[2]This chart is posted on the Sword of the Spirit Ministry website based in the United Kingdom. The author is only references this specific chart in this post, and is not claiming any other affiliation with or knowledge of this ministry. As with all content on the web, use discernment in its use.
