Our family has a white car.  When one drives this car, it is with confidence.  This car is a make that we have full confidence in! Yesterday the call came that the car was not performing as it should.  To make a long story short, it had to be left where it was, another car borrowed in its place, and today, the car is in the garage.

Within a short span of time our confidence can be shifted and shaken.  For many, Covid19 has affected the confidence once enjoyed. Within hours, or for some days, it was taken away.  Do you know someone who remains affected, perhaps seriously affected?  This person had rightly felt confident, but then the unknown arrived and life radically shifted.

For all of us our confidence can be shaken; those things and people we put our confidence in and trust in can suddenly be removed, or, altered.  We are left wondering what we can hold onto.  At these moments in life I have sometimes said “I feel like I am up to my head in water and only my nose is above the water line.” Can you appreciate that experience?  I have learned to add to that line, though.  I add, and we can all add the words, ‘but my tiptoes are on solid ground.’ My confidence, even small, is found in the truth that I stand on a rock and rocks don’t move. 

Perhaps the Psalmist said it best, “My flesh and my heart may fail but, God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:26).

When Noah stepped foot onto the ark, he entered in faith. The rain poured down and water seeped forth from the earth and gradually the ark began to float. Noah’s security was yes, the boat, but his confidence was in something far greater. Noah knew his God and believed that his provision and presence would be certain.  I think that line is worth repeating.  Noah knew his God and believed his presence and provision would be certain.  I am sure there were days Noah wondered if he would ever step forth on land, whether the waters would ever subside, whether the stench from the ark would ever be left behind.

There are seasons in life when we may find ourselves standing on tiptoe. Know that we stand on a solid rock.  David, who wrote many of the Psalms, wrote this one for a friend. “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.  Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress I will not be shaken” (Psalm 62:2).  I share them with you, my friends in Christ, praying your confidence, like mine, would be rooted more deeply and securely. Perhaps, like David they are also words to share with a friend.

The Salvation Army Officer who wrote the following song knew his God and believed his provision and presence.  Enjoy these words as we sing or say them together.  Take specific note of verse two!

848: I Shall Not Fear Though Darkened Clouds May Gather Round Me

1.  I shall not fear though darkened
Clouds may gather round me;
The God I serve is one
Who cares and understands.
Although the storms I face would
Threaten to confound me,
Of this I am assured: I'm in His hands.
      I'm in His hands, I'm in His hands;
     Whate'er *(Whatever) the future holds
     I'm in His hands,
    The days I cannot see
    Have all been planned for me;
    His way is best, you see;
    I'm in His hands.
2.  What though I cannot know the
Way that lies before me,
I still can trust
And freely follow His commands;
My faith is firm
Since He it is who watches o'er me;
Of this I'm confident: I'm in His hands.
3.  In days gone by my Lord
Has always proved sufficient,
When I have yielded to the law
Of love's demands;
Why should I doubt that He would
Evermore be present
To make His will my own?
I'm in His hands!

God who is and gives confidence. We bow before you aware that true strength comes from you alone.  We pray that each one of us would find our confidence in you even when the uncertainties of life surround.  We pray especially for children and young people today.  Like the Psalmist, years from now, may they be able to say of the Lord, “For you have been my hope Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth” (Psalm 71:5).  AMEN

With care and in prayer,