I recently read a book where the author suggested that you replace old, negative, condemning thoughts about yourself with new, positive, encouraging thoughts and thereby raise your sense of self-esteem. She believes that by visualizing what you want your life to be, you can change it. But I have found that thinking positively about myself is simply not enough. Too often I cannot live up to my own expectations.

Another author, Deborah Smith Pegues, who, incidentally, also has been very successful in the corporate world, writes the following in her book Conquering Insecurity,

For many years I was a staunch advocate of self-confidence. I embraced the teachings of secular motivational speakers who convinced me that if I believed in myself, the sky was the limit in…what I could accomplish. However, having faced several…situations that required greater skills, knowledge, and mental fortitude than I possessed, I began to realize that my self-confidence was woefully inadequate.[1]

She goes on to explain that the core meaning of the word “confidence” is “with faith” and that the focus of our faith should be God, not ourselves, since God says, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). In fact, she goes so far as to say that “The most detrimental quality we can have is self-confidence.” Instead, we need to replace self-confidence with Supreme confidence—that is, “Supreme” with a capital “S”—confidence in God.

Supreme confidence means that you realize nothing happens to you by chance. Even your failures and the painful experiences of your life have meaning because God will use them to make you into the person He wants you to be. Knowing God has a purpose for you gives you confidence that goes far beyond positive thinking.

Do you have self-confidence or Supreme confidence? The Bible says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him” (Jeremiah 17:7). Knowing that God is at work in your life is the most positive thinking you can have.

[1] Deborah Smith Pegues, Conquering Insecurity (Eugene, OR, Harvest House Publishers, 2005) p. 122.

Are you thinking about how God is making you into the person He wants you to be?