Turn the World Upside Down: Developing Undefeatable Confidence

What kills the fulfillment of a dream like low confidence? Without a healthy belief, anchored not just in God, but also in ourselves, we may find ourselves frustrated. This can come from the dream killers that launch assaults against our destiny and the details associated with daily life.

Watching the world go on as others are living their perceived “best lives” is hard. It can make us feel permanently suspended between having a desire and being on our way to fulfilling what appears to be God’s impossible dream. Others, however, don’t have to dismay us. Instead, they can inspire and encourage.

As we see what others are doing, we can be reminded that we aren’t the first to encounter this quandary. Challenges masquerade as obstacles. In reality, they are often essential to remain consistent in faith. They help us learn and grow as we catapult into the next place of purpose.

Confidence matters because it is the marker of how we see the person within. Viewing ourselves through a distorted or negative lens impacts how we perceive our abilities. Looking in the mirror of God’s Word will equip us with the standard of His infallibility. In creating us, He made no mistakes or errors.

Though we are not perfect, we are yet formed in His Image. We have traits and talents that He enjoys and designed on purpose. He wants to teach us how to employ and deploy with Him, to extend His Kingdom.

Awaken

It may seem challenging to consider how to boost our confidence and elevate our sense of self-worth, but we don’t have to look far. Often, our childhoods tell a story that nods toward our future desires and pursuits.

Within each of us, there is often a leaning toward particular gifts or abilities that appear and evolve naturally, with little to no training. Many times, these interests awaken resilience, buffering us through some of our most challenging seasons. As we develop these natural affinities, we also increase in skill. We find that our invested time transcends to feeling indescribable joy and the pleasure of God surging within.

That is no accident, but rather a fellowship encounter that God wants us to experience with Him. Sometimes, we run away from our pastime, discouraged by someone who criticized or judged us harshly. Many people have abandoned the passion of a hobby or interest, forsaking it to please others or in pursuit of something more practical.

While God is practical, He also is purposeful. He plants tendencies within us to serve His greater aim for our lives. When we forsake it, we leave dormant a part of us that He has awakened to serve Him and others.

Agitation

The nudge that summons us closer to our dreams is intended to agitate us from the stupor of slogging through life. We may have suffocated our God-spark over time, plastering it with reasons why we shouldn’t awaken the dreams and possibilities of our youth or earlier years. However, when the desires don’t wither or wane in intensity, we may need to embrace this holy agitation as an invitation and a gift.

Recognizing our unique discontent begs us to bring what God has placed in us to enhance our world through what we invent, create, and share. The persistent resurfacing of our heart’s desire points us to the purpose for which we were created.

Stop Apologizing

The Father created us with destiny in mind. Before the earth’s foundations, we were assembled and crafted as a distinct masterpiece. We reflect a Perfect God, a Father, and Creator who made no errors in how He fashioned us. Who we are may make some people uncomfortable, but the opinions of others are not the same as God’s Truth.

God will connect us with support along our journey. It is, however, our relationship with God that will guide us. The special characteristics He gives will serve the ultimate purpose associated with the person God shaped us to be.

Acknowledge

We are designed by a Father who intends for us to gain competence and confidence in making good use of what He gives us. As we acknowledge what the Father has placed in us, we must pay attention to where the Spirit is drawing our awareness.

Are there distinct places, people groups, or individuals we may feel called to serve? As we seek Him, study Scripture, and engage with His Spirit in that conversation. He will reveal secrets that will give practical direction for our dreams. Making space to develop our abilities refines what He’s given. This is not only by cultivating our confidence but also trusting Him and stewarding His gifts well.

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. – Deuteronomy 29:29, NIV

Appreciate

As we seek to develop our confidence, through developing our gifts, we experience a metamorphosis. Soul transformation alters our minds, modes, and movements, akin to the caterpillar ascending to capture the sights of an airborne butterfly (Romans 12:1-2). Focusing on God in transition matures us into the next version of what God intended.

It’s His glory that shifts, causing us to no longer see ourselves through the lens of low confidence, but rather encounter Him and be forever and continually changed with each glimpse of Him. This inspires our praise and gratitude. It evokes appreciation that the God who began the good work is faithful to keep working within until He completes it (Philippians 1:6).

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. – 2 Corinthians 3:18, NIV

Affirm

Although we are on a journey with the Lord, there will be moments when our confidence sputters. We must reinforce our strength in the secret place of prayer and worship. We receive validation needed from the Father, but even in our agreement with Him, we need to affirm and refresh our souls with the Word (James 1:21). Speaking what He says about us fortifies our faith and provides what we need to endure seasons when our dream has the illusion of never coming to fruition.

Add Value

The poetic beauty of belonging to Christ’s Body reflects unity in our diversity and complexity, connected to Him as the Head, unified and interdependent. What His Spirit is maturing in us is not meant for us exclusively. It is to build the Body and extend salt and light into the world (Matthew 5:13-16).

When we release the godly authority of our gifts and anointing, we pierce through the darkness, subduing its power in the earth. We are ambassadors for Christ, on a mission to add value to our families, communities, regions, and nations. It is by the anointing of the Holy Spirit within that we turn this world, in its dark state, upside down as Jesus’ earliest followers (Acts 17:6). 

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. – 2 Corinthians 5:20, NIV

Next Steps

Wherever you are on the journey of discovering, exploring, and fulfilling your purpose, remember how beloved you are. The enemy will use low confidence to discourage, disconnect, and defeat in the area of realizing dreams and destiny. Although you may feel the discomfort of this present season, you can see yourself the way God sees you.

Select a counselor to meet with for the next level of support. You already have what is needed to turn your world upside down and develop the undefeatable confidence that frees you to be who God created.