True Confidence

"So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.

What can mere mortals do to me?”

Hebrews 13:6

In the verse before this we read "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you".  God's promise.  Take a minute and read though verse 6 above slowly.  Focus on each word.  Consider how this verse would change if you took out, or changed just one word.  Remove the word confidence, for example.  Take that one word out and now how sure can we be of Who is our helper...and without that confidence, we are left to the mercy of fear and failure and judgement and persecution.

No, we are promised that NEVER will He leave us.  NEVER will He forsake us.  We can claim that confidence always, and rest in our ability to not be afraid.  God doesn't let us wander around aimlessly - he is with us.  (Although, if we choose to ignore Him, that's a different problem.)

I thought today's reading tied in quite well with the memory verse for this week, which is: 

"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."1 Corinthians 10:13
 



Look through today's reading...how many different temptations are there just in this chapter!?! All of these actions sound simple, yet all of them so easy to slack on or even ignore...

• Keep loving one another
• Show hospitality
• Be content with what you have
• Don't get caught up in strange teaching
• Submit to leader's authority
• Pray

I know a lot of times people go to 1 Corinthians 10:13 as a verse for "big" temptations...but what bigger command has God given us than to love one another (aside from loving the Lord)?  And when we struggle to love the annoying co-worker sitting nearby - He provides a way to endure it.  When we're just wanting a quiet evening alone, but a friend needs someone to talk to - He will help us know what to say.  When the green eyed monster of jealousy rises up - He reminds us that He is faithful.  When the enemy uses cunning to trick our minds away from the truth - We can trust that Jesus has been through this too and we return to the Word for strength.  And, what an example we have of submission to authority!  Finally, we pray...and we do that with confidence.