29 March - Confidence?
“We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.”
2 Thessalonians 3:4-5
Confidence is often easily misunderstood. It can appear at best presumptuous, and at worst, hubristic (full of pride). One definition of confidence says confidence is “knowing your value, without proving your worth”. Nicky Gumbel once said, “knowledge is like underwear. It is useful to have, but not necessary to show it off”!
In today’s scripture, we see an interesting application of confidence. We commonly think of confidence as an attribute rooted in ourselves for who we are or what we will do. However, Paul writes about a different confidence – one that is rooted in the Lord and for who the church is, and what they will do. The best way to know if our confidence is prideful is to know who our confidence is in. Lend your confidence to others, entrust them – and you will see fruit in other branches of the tree.
Here in these verses, we see a model for how Christian leadership works: first, the clarity of the command. Second, the confidence of its completion by others. Nothing we can do as leaders can be done alone. The Lord uses people to build people, and he is coming back for his Church, a collective of individuals united in love and vision. The only way we can do his will and complete his work is to empower other leaders and invite them on this journey of obedience; to think with a mindset of ‘team’ rather than a mindset of ‘me’.
The leadership lesson in Paul’s words is simple: “if you have any confidence, share it!” Empower another person, raise a team, entrust them with responsibilities and allow them to make mistakes – so that they may grow in doing the things God commands, into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. Our task is to clarify the goal and define the parameters, then to have confidence that the work belongs to the Lord, and he will equip his people to do his work. When leaders fail to let go, they forget that the ministry never belonged to them in the first place. May our greatest legacy be to raise successors better than us.
PONDER
Who can I entrust my confidence to today? Who is a younger, newer leader than I am, who I can raise?
PROMISE
“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)
PRAYER
Lord, help us to put our confidence in you. Help us to trust you that you can do in others what you have done for us. Use us to be a channel of your love and power, to pastor and nurture your church to do your will.
Article by the Reverend Abel Cheah, the service pastor for The Five, the evening service of Holy Trinity Bukit Bintang. He is also the Chief Operating Officer of Alpha Asia Pacific.