Unstoppable Confidence by Gary Steffes

Confidence is possible. For years, I believed the opposite. In my career, confidence was one of my greatest struggles. I remember being on a bus trip to Ohio State University, wrestling again with fear and insecurity, feeling discouraged, and having the hopeless thought “This is going to be the rest of my life.” Then Jesus Christ changed my life. What I thought impossible, God miraculously produced in my life. The Lord transformed me from the inside out and showed me that unstoppable confidence is possible!

For years, I was a slave to:

• The fear of failure
• The fear of what others think
• Insecurity
• Comparison traps
• Performance anxiety
• Discouragement
• Selfish ambition

When Jesus saved me, He broke the power of sin in my life and put His Spirit within me. God gave me everything I needed to live a godly, victorious life ( 2 Peter 1:3). The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwelt in me (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19). I was no longer alone and powerless. I was strong and immovable in Christ. God did not give me a Spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).

I started to attack the day with courage and boldness! I went on offense because “I was strong, the Word of God abided in me, and I had overcome the evil one” (1 John 2:14). I started playing strong defense against enemies of the heart like pride, anger, idolatry, bitterness, and jealousy. I stopped fighting in my own strength and started surrendering to the Lord. He became the Power Source that crucified the old life and put to death the enemies to confidence in me (Romans 6:6, 8:13).

To this day, I am growing and learning to live victoriously in the Lord. One thing I know is “God can do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine” (Eph. 3:20). No one is stuck and without hope.

Here are three simple action items I am focusing on daily to live with unstoppable confidence:

Every day, I start my day on offensive attack. My feelings, fears, anxieties, and stresses do not win the morning. I win the morning by taking thoughts captive and making my body run after an eternal purpose (2 Corinthians 10:3-5, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27). My first non-negotiable action item is to get intimately connected to Jesus Christ and rooted in His declarations of who I am. Then, I go on mission with Jesus to make disciples and impact lives for eternity. I start my day on offense and stay on offense all day long.

I must win in the heart first. Jesus said in Mark 12:30, "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." I believe the order matters. Therefore, my pursuit of Jesus and confidence starts in the heart. With this perspective, I am constantly guarding my heart from enemies like pride, anger, idolatry, bitterness, and jealousy (Proverbs 4:23).

Strength comes through surrender. I cannot win the confidence battle in my own strength with my own will power; I must surrender to the Lord. “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (Ephesians 6:10). “On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul” (Psalm 138:3). “They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). It is not by my power, or might, but by the Spirit of God that extraordinary things happen, and I walk in victory (Zechariah 4:6).

Lord, please help all of us as Your people live with unstoppable confidence. In Jesus Name. Amen!