Be Confident in GodVoorbeeld

Maintaining confidence when your life gets hard “ God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God” (2 Timothy 1:7-8) Maintaining confidence in the Lord is not too difficult when everything goes well in our lives and we are surrounded by loving fellow Christians. But what if we are suffering for the gospel, as Paul did? What if we are imprisoned for our faith or looked down upon by others? All too easily, we can lose courage and even feel ashamed of our faith when people around us think Christianity is bad or ignorant. Belonging to an unpopular minority does not boost our confidence. In Paul’s case, things were even worse since many fellow Christians turned away from him (see 2 Timothy 1:15). They were “ashamed of his chains”. They did not want to be seen in his company any longer. It is especially in such circumstances that we need faith in order to remain confident. If we don’t have true faith, we’ll fall away when tribulation or persecution arises (see Matthew 13:21). When Paul was in prison and was left by many of his fellow believers, he testified: “But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me” (2 Timothy 1:12). Do you share Paul’s rock solid faith in God, despite difficult circumstances you may face?