Elijah had a lot of confidence in God.  He knew that God could rain down fire from heaven and he was sure that God would prevent Baal from doing the same.  He challenged the Priests of Baal and trusted God to show who He was. (Elijah 18)  If you remember this story from Sunday School lessons, Elijah's confidence in God was well warranted.  God did rain down fire from heaven, fire that consumed the altar, mote full of water, and sacrifice, while the priests of Baal stood by in utter fear and shock.

Elijah's story makes me wonder, How much confidence do I have in what God can do?  There is one thing I know for sure; God will not come under my power for my own purposes.  I don't want to try using God's power for my own gain.  Yet, people like Elijah and David and Paul had great confidence in God.  God confidence overcame their own limits.

Too many times my confidence comes from people, circumstances, or my own resources.  David didn't have confidence in any of those when he challenged the giant Goliath to a duel.  David's brothers told him to go home and mind his own business, he was too small to fit the armor King Solomon offered him when he volunteered to fight Goliath.  David's confidence came from the knowledge that God had done powerful things through him in the past (killing a bear), and that God would do it again to protect His name from this God-mocking Philistine.  Against all natural possibilities, David went out to fight Goliath, and won.

In Philippians 1:6 Paul says, "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Surely Paul knew better by now than to put confidence in people.  This church was an unlikely source of spiritual greatness.  It was started by some God fearing women, including Lydia, but in a town where there were very few Jews.  Philippi was a Roman Colony that wasn't promising as a spiritual Mecca for Christianity.  Yet, Paul had great confidence, why?  Paul's confidence came from knowing what God had done to transform his own life.  He was confident in God, not in his preaching, not in Lydia, not in the religious experiences they had shared. 

How strong is your confidence in God?  Are you over confident believing that you can tell God what to do with your prayers?  Are you overcome by despair and disappointment because life doesn't seem to be going the way you think it should? 

Here's a question to ask yourself this week.  What are you confident that your God can do in and through your life?  Learn what God confidence is all about.