When we are confident in our abilities, it brings about gratification and a sense of accomplishment which in return makes us feel good.  

We can be confident in our various talents; especially, when it leads to good fruit.  When we do well and are successful in a sporting event, or a work project, or a school assignment, or when we have finished a task, whatever it may be, we then have that feeling of achievement. 

Being confident in our conviction should also make us feel at ease; especially, since we know what we believe is the Truth and we have the Bible to back us up. 

Paul had this conviction, and he was confident that he was going to make it by overcoming all the trials he had to endure and that he would receive his crown when Christ would return.  He said in 2 Timothy 4:8: “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”  He was absolutely convinced he would succeed as he said in verses 6 and 7: “… the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

When Jesus was on this earth as a man, He could have sinned and was tested repeatedly but He obviously passed the tests and lived a sinless life.  He also had the absolute confidence that He would not sin, as did God the Father, for they knew the crucial role of Christ’s sinlessness to accomplish God’s plan, for the sake of you and me, and all of mankind. 

Just as God the Father and Jesus Christ were confident in their plan, they also have that same confidence in us that we will succeed.  They are convinced that all those whom God calls to eternal salvation in this day and age WILL succeed. He WANTS those whom He calls to salvation to be in His Kingdom— to be in His Family. 

Because Paul knew this, he was certain that the following statement in Philippians 1:3-6 would apply to him as well: “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…”

Is this the kind of confidence we have in ourselves, just as Paul did? And for those of us who are called today, do we believe that we WILL make it into His Kingdom?  It takes work, though, and we need to prove to God that we are serious in our obedience to Him so that our confidence is acceptable by fruits worthy of repentance and of the gospel.

Life is indeed hard sometimes, and every day distractions can be a hindrance to what is most important.  How strongly are we committed to the Truth and God’s Way of Life?  We may sometimes have that feeling of quitting, having doubt or a lack of faith, and that kind of thinking could even bring us to the point of giving up.  We have to be careful that we don’t think that way. 

In the 13th chapter of Matthew, Christ talks about the parable of the sower.  In verse 19, He states, “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.”

We must be diligent in understanding the Truth, and we do that by studying God’s Word and asking God for His wisdom and understanding.  Satan the devil is very eager to draw us away from God’s Truth, and he loves it when we stumble. 

Instead, we are to be joyful when we hear God’s Word (verse 20).  The key is that we remain joyful and enthusiastic about God’s Way of Life, lest we drift away, due to various trials in our lives.  Verse 21 states, “… yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while.  For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.” 

Christ also describes a category of people who do know the Truth but are still attached to the world in some way:  “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful” (verse 22).  We cannot serve God and mammon  (Matthew 6:24).  Being caught up in the world is a huge distraction from God’s Way of Life, and therefore, it is impossible to bear fruit.  In verse 23, Christ states: “But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” We must also remember the fact that we, as converted Christians, were predestined to be called, and we were chosen for this life, to know God’s Truth and His Law.  God has called us out of this world to a potentially better life that is to come in the near future.  With this understanding that we have, we must act on it, and whenever we may have that feeling of giving up, know that God is always there to help us and that we will be blessed far more than we can ever imagine. Keep going, and we will see what God promises the faithful.