Word For Today: Building Your Confidence

In Acts 27 (AMP), there’s a great story about the apostle Paul. He was travelling by ship with some people when “a violent wind [of the character of a typhoon]…came bursting down from the island” (v. 14). For days they were caught in the storm, and at one point it was so fierce, they were “dangerously tossed about by the violence of the storm” (v. 18) and had to throw the ship’s equipment overboard. They ended up without food, hungry, stranded – seemingly without hope.

In that moment, Paul stood in the midst of the survivors and said to them, “I beg you to be in good spirits and take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you…” (v. 22). He then shared that an angel of God told him this, and said in verse 25, “So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith (complete confidence) in God that it will be exactly as it was told me.”

How could Paul, in the middle of a horrible storm, ask the people to “be in good spirits” and have a good attitude? Because he believed in his heart—without a doubt—“that it will be exactly as it was told me.” I love that! It’s a great picture of the power of faith in God when all hope seems lost. And we can have the very same faith that Paul had if we will overcome doubt.

We all face storms in life. Some are more difficult than others, but we all go through trials and tribulation. That’s why we have the gift of faith. Ephesians 6:16 (NIV) calls it “the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Doubt is a type of “flaming arrow” that the enemy uses to attack our faith.

I want to encourage you to begin making confessions every day that will help you grow in your faith and confidence in God. We need to make declarations like, “God loves me. He wants to speak to my heart. I can hear from God. He is faithful to me and will lead me in His will for my life. And I believe it will be exactly as God has told me!” By God’s grace, we can be bold in faith and overcome every attack of doubt during the storms of life.