A Confident Heart by Renee Swope speaks to the doubts, fears, and insecurities that plague us daily. It’s a reminder that no matter what we’re facing, God can heal us and help us think from a positive perspective.

God wants to show you how to have a new mindset filled with peace instead of turmoil.

What we think about affects us in many different ways, especially if we tend to dwell on negative ideas. So often we’re worried about what others think of us, or for one reason or another, we have doubts about ourselves, like whether we’re good enough or deserve a good life. When our thoughts weigh on us, we often feel trapped by unrealistic expectations.

God knows us intimately. He knows our flaws, secrets, and weaknesses, yet He accepts who we are. If we want to be confident, we must develop a closer relationship with Him. He shows us that He accepts us not for what we do but for who we are to Him. By abiding in His Word, we have the assurance that things will work out for the best.

In this summary, you will learn:

  • how our mind tricks us into believing things about ourselves that aren’t true;
  • ways to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ”; and
  • why we need to stick with God to overcome trials.

Doubt is like a shadow that overtakes your mind with deception.

Self-doubt is something that eats us up in different ways. For example, sometimes we feel as though we aren’t good enough parents or that we’ll mess up a big presentation for work. There may even be times we feel like people don’t really care about us though they say they do. Doubt is an emotion that’s closely related to fear – fear of the unknown or that we won’t live up to our own expectations or those of others.

Fighting the shadows of our own mind can be downright exhausting. Constantly questioning ourselves about how good enough we are drags us down each day like a constant weight. We become depressed after enough doubt seeps into our brain, telling us the negative things in our lives will never change. Like a devil on our shoulder, doubt fixates on all the worrisome thoughts we constantly tell ourselves, and it’s relentless. We may even feel like there’s no way out.

There’s good news, though. God’s light and hope have the ability to dispel doubt. With Him guiding us, we are assured we’ll have a bright future. When bad thoughts creep in, the power of God cleanses our mind. When we study the Scriptures and develop a meaningful relationship with Him, darkness has no hold over us.

If we want genuine change in our lives, we must put our confidence in the God who can change any situation for the better. By opening our hearts to Him in honest prayerful conversation, we’ll start to figure out solutions to whatever is bothering us deep down. If we aren’t willing to go on the journey of self-examination with God, we’ll be stuck in self-doubt and depression.

We need to remember that feelings can lie to us, but God never will. In fact, God promises us a “hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). He is filled with unconditional love for us, and once we experience that love, we’ll have no reason to doubt who we are in Him. If we focus on our awesome God, we start to see the truth about the lies our minds feed us when we doubt our abilities or worthiness as a person.

God loves us no matter what mistakes we’ve made.

Pretending everything in our life is fine when it really isn’t is difficult. We like to think that when people look at us, they don’t notice anything but the smile we plaster on our face. It can be hard to admit we need help or that things aren’t as perfect as they seem.

In reality, there is a place deep down where we all want to be loved and accepted for who we are, flaws and all. But instead of admitting that to ourselves or others, many of us put up walls to ensure nobody finds out just how much we need to feel the approval of others. The problem is that our walls make us feel so alone.

Some people may wonder where their doubts and insecurities stem from. Childhood has a deep and lasting effect on our adult life. For instance, if we didn’t feel like our parents approved of us or they weren’t available to love us the way we needed to be loved, we’ll wonder what was wrong with us. Our past often slips into our present life, especially if we’ve never dealt with the negative aspects of it.

Thankfully, we have a Father who doesn’t demand perfection from us before He will accept us. He loves us no matter what we think of ourselves or what others say about us. He already knows everything about us, yet He pursues us anyway.

Jesus’ pursuit of the Samaritan woman at the well is a perfect example of how the Lord pursues us. We might be used to criticism or scornful glances because of a past we can’t live down, but He doesn’t care about any of that. Instead, Jesus looks at our pain and offers us acceptance for who we are. He gives us hope that things in our life can be better.

The woman at the well was thirsty for something that only Jesus could give her, living water. Yet she didn’t know it at first. She knew something was special about Jesus, though. Through her conversation with Him, she discovered a deeper truth about herself. She was chasing after love through men who couldn’t give her what she needed. Only the Lord has the ability to set us free from the things that hinder us deep down.

Jesus knows us. He knows about our doubts and insecurities and that things that haunt us that we wouldn’t dare share with anyone else. We can’t hide anything from Him. But the beauty of it all is that He still holds out His hand saying, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

When we have a genuine relationship with Him, we’ll start to focus more on His love for us than any mistakes we’ve made. We’ll start to see ourselves in light of eternity with our Lord and how important we are to Him…

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