Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Romans 12:2 NIV

My husband knows to never put me in situations where I’m responsible for something I know nothing about. Like asking the CPA to explain our taxes (I’m blonde, remember?), or doing a home improvement project (I can barely hold a steak knife properly), or fixing a car with smoke billowing from the engine (sorry bud, I’m not Megan Fox). Unfortunately, I’m about as useless as a limp fish in every single one of those situations.

It’s easy for us to believe that if we don’t feel confident about something, then we must be incapable. If we don’t feel good enough, we never will be. While our feelings can be powerful, they don’t always reflect reality. Don’t get me wrong, emotions can guide us, helping us recognize areas for growth and encouraging us to push beyond our comfort zones. They play an important role in our lives, but if we’re not careful, they can also lead us in the wrong direction.

The world suggests that confidence is a feeling, something we feel in our hearts about ourselves and our capabilities. However, that’s not true at all! Confidence doesn’t come from the heart; actually, it starts within the mind!

Let me explain. First, it’s our thoughts that affect our feelings—not the other way around. To have a more confident heart, we must exercise our mind. For example, how did we pass that test in school? We actively learned about that subject. How did we become so passionate about our favorite hobby or trade? We actively learned about it. How did we fall more in love with our spouse, our friends, our Savior? By actively learning more about them.

If you’re reading this devotional because you’re tired of being insecure, or if you’re just desperately wanting to know God more, the starting point is simple—become a student. The Bible is the perfect textbook. When we actively put our minds on learn mode, our perceptions start to filter out the lies and infiltrate our thoughts with the purity of God’s truth instead.

The heart cannot love what the mind does not know; therefore, knowledge of our precious Savior is what we must chase after the most. Knowing the truth about who Jesus is, and who we are in Him, leads to a confidence that changes everything.

God, knowing You is what I’m after. I pray my hunger for You is never satisfied. I want to be a student of who You are all the days of my life. Amen.

 

This is an excerpt from A Confidence That Changes Everything: Devotions to Shine Bright in This Topsy-Turvy Life, the new book by Hannah Crews!