About the Author

Holley Gerth is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, counselor, and life coach. Her newest release is The Powerful Purpose of Introverts: Why the World Needs You to Be You. She's also wife to Mark, Mom to Lovelle, and Nana to Eula and Clem.

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
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(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
DaySpring.com
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Comments

  1. Thank you. I’d like to be more confident. I used to be and then I got worn down. I’m trying to build myself back up. It’s hard to be patient with myself. It’s taking a long time to feel confident. I know I’m growing in wisdom through this process.

  2. Faith and confidence, I had not connected the two before. At the moment due to chronic illness and an ever decreasing social circle as well as other factors my confidence has crumpled and left me. I was never overly confident but now just walking into a shop by myself is a huge deal and not a situation I ever thought I would find myself in. Thank you for sharing because this actually gives me hope. Blessings.

  3. I’ve struggled to be confident because I let my parents’ words tear me down. I’ve had the wrong record playing in my head all these years instead of the Lord’s.

    Thank you for saying, “We can walk through this world with heads and hearts held high as Daughters of the King {who wear pajama pants and don’t get up on time and who are beautifully messy inside and out}.”

  4. My working definition of ‘confidence’ lately has been, “The internal assurance I have access to any resources I may need.”

    That explains for me why confidence is so often mistaken for arrogance (You think you have access to what?!), and fits beautifully with this relationship of confidence to faith.

    “My God will supply every need…” (Phil 4:19). “His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness…” (2Peter 1:3).

  5. This is an epiphany for me too, Holley. Where is my confidence? If I put it in the Lord…

    This is a hard one for me to internalize. Chewing on it today.

  6. Boy I sure need this today. The past two weeks have been spent struggling with identity issues I thought I had figured out years ago. God is teaching me that I’m becoming who I am and learning the true meaning of faith and acting on that is critical right now. Thank you.

  7. I, too, woke up dreadfully late today and NEEDED this devo as I go about my day only 3 hours behind schedule! Thanks!

  8. Yes, thank you Holley. I’ve struggled with confidence, letting other people tell me who I am or should be, letting the little things about my appearance drag me down. This week God has been teaching me (again) to trust in His plan for me, and in who He made me to be. Faith is confidence… not in what I can see, not in my job security, not in my role as a mom or wife… not in my smile or makeup… but in the things I can’t see. In God’s goodness, in His might. And that is so freeing.

  9. I’ve never thought of my faith as confidence. But, you know it is true. We are confident in Him and in His words. What a great scripture today!

  10. My identity in HIM…as a wife, mother, daughter, sister…those I feel at peace with in my “skin”. But my identity as a woman? another storey.

    How? How do we build that confidence in Christ as a woman and put it into action? In the confines of my small, yet significant world, I am confident. I love my husband with abandon, I encourage or discipline my children believing that I am relying on Him who gives strength and I see the fruit of His labor in my life in that area especially, I will pray with people on the phone and via the world wide web, and I walk knowing I am His child.
    But put me out into the world and all my confidences in Him seem to become so weak…so frail. In my new found church (less than a year) i become so self conscious of what I say and do. the words that flow freely from my hands to the keyboard get caught up in my out of balance concern of what others will think about what I say. The enemy whispers that my confidence is really pride so I should keep quiet about_____________. Fill in the blank! I have so much i want to share about His love, grace, forgiveness, yet among believers I get tongue-tied and end up keeping quiet. WHY is that?
    Maybe I just need to put myself out there more. You know, like more practice will make perfect kind of thing :0). I am not new to Christ or the church, but the hurts of the past church experience has my heart still so wounded and guarded and THAT is surely not the way he would have me be…prayers appreciated! he is my all sufficient one!

    • Your comments blessed by heart, Donna. In my humble/confident (!) opinion, I think God may be preparing you for something special. You have a LOT of good truth to communicate through your keyboard. Perhaps one day it will be out loud. In the meantime, you are observing and absorbing. God will some day turn the input into output!

  11. I’ve never thought of faith as confidence. It does totally make sense though because as I think about it the times I had confidence I had the most faith. Thank you for sharing this & giving us something to think about.

  12. Yes! Pastor Prince shared this message some time ago and it hit me like a truth-bomb, too. I always viewed confidence as a burden that I needed to shed in order to be properly humble. Tough task when you’re naturally stubborn and strong-willed πŸ™‚ But the way he described it, as confidence in the total authority and desire of God to do what He says He will do, and recognizing we are totally unable and often unwilling to do what it takes to fix a problem, means that being confident is being completely reliant/humble. As long as the confidence is in God, we are right to walk with our heads held high and eyes bright with expectation. Daughters of the King ought to walk in no other way πŸ™‚

  13. Love this, Holley! Did you know the root word of BOTH faith and confidence is the Latin “fidere”? Think “semper fidelis” . . always faithful. It literally means “to trust”!

  14. Thank You Holley, I have not ever connected Faith and confidence. I have a lot of growing to do in respect to my confidence. I say that I have faith, perhaps I do not demonstrate in my confidence. I recently lost my husband to brain cancer and I feel like I will never have confidence again. Yet, I feel in my heart that God will take care of me and that I will be okay. Sound confused?? Perhaps I can use some understanding about confidence. Sorry everybody if all of this sounds weird.

  15. Jen, after I wrote my comment, I read yours. You talked about the message your Pastor delivered. Things started to connect. With confidence, I am thinking about my own and leaving God out of the equation. With faith, I put God back in to the equation. I can see that confidence and faith are one and the same. Both are definately inclusive of God. Thanks Holley for sharing and Jen thanks for helping to clarify by sharing about your Pastor Prince and his message.

  16. Holley,

    I never thought much about faith and confidence being the same thing. I have some confidence in things I do & say, but not a whole lot. When I realize that God is with me and will see me through anything I can have all the confidence/faith in the world.

    Wonderful post Holley!@

  17. ‘Love the verb you chose, Holley, in the sentence: “DARE to live with faith, confidence, and joy.” Not try. Not learn. No. DARE! With shoulders back and head up, jump right into the day, into the conversation, into the situation, and believe God is guiding. That’s faith. Speak or act. Get in there! Do it! That’s confidence. And smile–laugh even–at any and every appropriate moment. In that one sentence, Holley, you gave us a battle cry for 2013. Thank you!