Be Confident

THIS WEEK was the first week of August, which is a very important month for me. A week from today, I'll be eighteen years old. And a week after that, I'll be at college. By the end of the month, I'll be settled into my first semester of college.

I have a few great books in my life lately. Two of them, in my view have a very opposite theme. One is Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, a long and epic novel about a major railroad system and society's reaction to business success. I'm reading it so I can write an essay in the hopes of winning a scholarship, because college is expensive.

The other, which I ordered last week and have been reading for the last few days, is "The Case for Faith" by Lee Strobel. It discusses the validity of faith and answers frequent questions about God.

How are these opposite? When I read them, I sense a very different emphasis. In the former, there is a focus on the concept of human greatness and competence, especially in the attitude held by the very successful protagonist Dagny Taggart. It's an appealing view: Even if she's not a very happy person, Dagny is able to overcome all sorts of business problems because she is a person of a unique level of competence and business ability.

In the latter, a former atheist investigates answers to questions that cause many people to doubt God's goodness, His power, or even His existence. He gets professional opinions that advocate for the power of faith, which is trust in a God who understands more than we do, and who keeps His promises.

I think I've been reading too much Atlas Shrugged lately. It's a great work of literature, and there's a lot of it to read, but it did something to my attitude that I had to ask God to help me fix. He reminded me of a phrase I had read in His word, but I had forgotten where it was: "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Later that day, I read a psalm that my friend referenced to in her Facebook Status, Psalm 51, and it contained that verse.

I think it's important to understand that we shouldn't be unconfident and down on ourselves, but we shouldn't have ultimate confidence on our abilities. People have truly amazing skills of incredible variety and extent. But why? God gave them to us. We have a strong God who cares for us very powerfully. He values humility and encourages confidence. Psalm 51:17 "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart - these, O God, You will not despise." He wants us to be humble before Him. In fact, knowing Him and being humble before Him always involve one another.

God has never disappointed me. But I have. In my experience, whenever I try to be the source of my own strength, I'm too weak. And whenever I lean on Him, things turn out for good. Proverbs 3:5-6 pretty much say it: "[5] Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; [6] In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."

God isn't shy about making promises, because He always keeps them. There are more than I can count, but here are a few that I've encountered just this week.

John 5:24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgement, but has passed from death into life."

2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

John 7:38 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."

Isaiah 26:3 "You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You."

Isaiah 54:10 "'For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,' says the Lord, who has mercy on you."

These are just to name a few. By reading His word, we learn that God is faithful and strong. He loves His people like a Husband, cares for us like a Father, and protects us like a King.

Compare those promises about God to these promises about us:

Romans 1:28 "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting."

Matthew 6:26-27 "[26] But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: [27] and the rain descended, the floods came,and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."

Proverbs 16:18 "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."

Based on these promises and on the fact that they turn out to be true, do you think it makes more sense to be confident in ourselves, or to be confident in God? Should we consider ourselves strong, we who are the size of dust on the surface of a speck of beautiful dust in this enormous universe? Or should we consider God strong, who made us and the whole universe? Should we climb the mountain ourselves or sail above it with Him?

I say we pray with an attitude like this: Psalm 37:3, "For You are my rock and my fortress; therefore, for Your name's sake, lead me and guide me."

I would be thrilled if a brilliant lady like Dagny Taggart would put her trust in God. She's successful in business, but she definitely doesn't have any peace or personal fulfilment. On the other hand, a book like "The Case for Faith" just gives me more reasons than ever to put my confidence in God, instead of on my own understanding. It's wonderful to know that He doesn't disappoint.