People who lack confidence to achieve goals are often victims of messages they’ve heard—either from others or from themselves—messages like these: You’re stupid; you’re a failure; you’ll never amount to anything; you don’t know what you’re doing; no one would hire you. For most people confidence begins early as little ones complete small tasks and adults affirm them when they do. As we grow spiritually, we learn to depend upon God to help us achieve our goals, sometimes goals far bigger than we could ever do without God’s power. For example, years ago God promised ancient Israel He would give them the Promised Land. But when it was time to go in, 10 of the 12 spies lacked confidence that God would enable them to conquer it. We read in Numbers 13 that after returning from their spying mission they said, “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are! … Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!” In contrast, Caleb said, “Let’s go at once to take the land … We can certainly conquer it!” Caleb’s faith was not in himself, but in God and God’s promise to give them the land. Like Caleb, we can trust in the faithfulness of God.
Dr. Melvin E. Banks, Sr. is the founder and chairman of UMI (Urban Ministries, Inc.). Under his direction, UMI has grown to be a leading publisher of Christian education resources for churches in the African American community. Read More
