Satan is a bully who tries to make us feel small, inadequate, less than and insecure. But we don’t have to believe him anymore.
Often times He’ll use something to trigger our self-doubts and then he’ll pounce on us with lies. Today can be the day you decide YOU ARE are more than a conqueror through HIM who loves you!
I’ve got a short video message based on my book that will equip and empower you to stop letting doubt and discouragement beat you up and start letting God’s Word build you up instead! Watch this for a practical way to beat the bully of doubs with the power of God’s promises.
{Download FREE Confident Heart “Triggers and Truths” Printable here}
A Summer Diet of a Different Kind!
Lose the weight of self-doubt by joining over 40,000 other women who have gone on my FREE 7-Day Doubt Diet. Filled with daily insights, powerful promises and scripture-based prayers, you will receive a week’s worth of life-changing Confident Heart devotions.Sign up here
“Confidence Boost” Giveaway:
Today I’m giving away a year’s subscription to the P31 Woman magazine and a copy of my book, “A Confident Heart” (to keep or share with a friend) along with my message “Don’t Throw Away Your Confidence” on CD and a Starbucks gift card! To enter, click “share your thoughts” below this post and let’s talk about those things that trigger your doubts and what truth God spoke to your heart today through the video message and/or my P31 devotion.
And the WINNER is…. Erin Maxwell {announced July 26, 2012}
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I want to start by saying THANK YOU for being so faithful in sharing God’s word. It means more than you can imagine. Your Proverbs 31 devotional today was exactly what I needed. I have struggled with doubt and insecurity my whole life. I grew up in a family with 8 siblings, which included 5 insanely beautiful sisters. We constantly compared ourselves to the others, allowing depression, eating disorders, and many other struggles to win when we didn’t find ourselves as beautiful or smart as our “perfect” sisters. I constantly felt the need to measure up, and so I aimed for perfectionism in everything. When I became a wife, teacher, mother, and youth pastor’s wife, the cycle continued. I constantly compared myself to others and knew I would never be as good as others. Your message about comparison being a source of doubt is SO TRUE! God recently showed me the Theodore Roosevelt quote that “Comparison is the thief of joy”, just as your devotional spoke about. The Lord has been faithfully showing me (and strongly confirming through your message today) that I don’t need to compare myself to anyone, for they are not the standard. Jesus is the standard, the benchmark, the One and Only that I need to strive to be like. If I could only keep this in my mind and heart, then the doubts would not be as crippling as they have always been.
I feel like I spend more time and energy being scared, untrusting and uncertain. I want to stop living in fear and doubt. I want to quit going through the motions. I want to truly feel joyful and confident again. I’d like to use the energy I have been wasting and put it to better use.
I have been called into the ministry to Preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I still sometimes doubt the call that GOD has placed on my life because of my focus on my own abilities, when I know that it is GOD and his precious Holy Spirit that works in me, to work as a servant in HIS kingdom.
My doubts are more about is my lack of confidence from not knowing if I’m doing something because I convicted by God or by man. I’m dealing now with not wanting to do something (teach this next school year). I can work in the school and not teach but that would mean less than half my take home pay. So I feel obligated to teach but don’t want the work load knowing all the other new responsibilities of taking care of my Mother. I’m believing God will intervene to provide a way out of the teaching responsibilities but I’m keeping myself open and ready to move forward with a “right attitude” to teach. I’ve got my church friends praying with me for God to have His way and give me grace and strength. I’d appreciate your prayers too. Thank you
I believe God is leading me to write a book. I wrote poetry and short stories as a teen, and I write infrequently now, but I am insecure about writing to be published.
Allowing past mistakes to define me in the present…
I’m a non-traditional master’s student who returned to school after being out for almost 15 years. I made the decision when I finally realized I had been in somewhat of a dead-end job for 8 years. Throughout the program my advisor has voiced her concerns about my failure to speak up in class and thinks that I may have problems when I do my internships this year because I don’t share what I know enough. I’m working a part-time job this summer and received my review last week. They were way more critical than positive. They told me I was timid and slow. So, now what is difficult to deal with is that I’ve received this criticism since I was in 1st grade. I thought I took care of the slow part and hadn’t heard that since I left elementary school. But the timid part continues to follow me. I don’t think of myself as timid. I know that I don’t talk as much as others, but I must have something in my manner that says fearful and I’m not sure how to remedy it. I have always been afraid of making mistakes and people seem to hone in on that. So, anyway, this devotional was helpful today. I’m thankful that God has a different focus. I tend to forget that easily and have never been quite sure how to bridge the tangible life with spiritual truth. I don’t want my weaknesses to be a barrier to God’s work. I want to be useful to Him.
While starting my new business I’ve become aware of how insecure and un-confidant I am when I’m calling people. I raised 3 children, have 6 grandchildren and feel confident in my own little world, but not in the business world. Your devotion was just what i needed today as I want to make phone calls fto acquire customers and need encouraged! Thank you so much for your help, I printed the triggers and truths and will repeat these scriptures often! I would be thrilled to win your book, I know it would help me and I can in turn encourage others. Thank you so much for your ministry, may God richly bless you!
I’ve been dealing with the spirit of doubt for some years now which has caused me to miss out on some things in my life. Going through a very difficult time in my marriage and trying to regain who I am, has caused doubt to implant itself into my life. I second guess everything and everyone and have serious struggles with this. I know what God tells and shows me through prayer and his word but sometimes I just can’t seem to shake this doubt which causes me to beat myself up and begin to question everything that I am. I have major inequities and I just want to be
I am always amazed how God always brings the very thing I need at the exact time that I need it! He is so AWESOME & FAITHFUL! I have struggled most of my teen and adult life with doubts of many kinds. I was raised in an extremely legalistic church where after becoming a Christian at a young age, I was told or led to believe I had back-slidden every time I did something wrong. This has been a battle for me…even though I learned in recent years that is by FAITH I am saved! It’s not a feeling or based on what I do or don’t do. However, even though I know this…it seems like Satan is always accusing me of not being a child of God. I was just thinking in the past few days that I have to get released from this battle in doubting my salvation…there has to be a way! And this morning I get on FB (something I don’t do very often) & here is this devotional video from Renee speaking to me! God is AMAZING & it’s very clear to me that I need to get a copy of this book & read it…asking the Holy Spirit to help me defeat satan & release me from this stronghold of doubt…crippling my walk wiith Him. Thank you Renee for your obedience to Christ in sharing your heart with all of us!
I doubt myself a lot. I never share in meetings because I feel other’s know more than me, of course I work with professors so that’s probably true, but I still wish I had the self confidence to state an opinion withough doubt. Just yesterday I scheduled a student group meeting and began doubting if it would be successful on my drive to campus, but it was absolutely wonderful! I am now telling myself when I feel like a failure, God has a plan! And if I’m mean’t to do something God will work it out beautifully and if it’s not mean’t to be, God will change it into something for his glory.
Thanks for stating the foundation of what I need – to trust God in the midst of this uncertainty of the high speed rail nightmare taking our property and totally devaluing our home and remaining property while we have to pay for a new well and irrigation system – with what. All this while my husband is fighting Valley Fever which is a full body fungal infection that takes months to recover. I know God cares and is the Wise Creator, Counselor and Intercessory amidst my insecurities. Thanks for stating the reality of what needs to be focused on – God and His plan as I am so inadequate.
Lately my biggest trigger has been college. I have three weeks left in the hardest class I’ve ever taken, and there are times when I’m just not sure if I can finish it.
While I am confident in my corporate abilities, I have an extremely poor self-image and very absent self-worth – due in large part to an extended period of psychological abuse in the workplace. It took me 7 years to before I finally “won” my worker’s comp settlement for severe stress, anxiety and depression. I am going through a very bad time right now – I have been doing better, have another job, and am trying to start all over at 53 years old. The family of a young lady my son is going to propose to believes they are the “elite” members of the mid-size town in which they live and though I have only met the mother, I am extremely aware of how the family is looking down on me.
This woman is behind my intensified feelings self-doubt and worthlessness. She makes back-handed comments and uses negative phrases couched as a compliment. For my son’s benefit, I have not said anything about it to him. I had dreamed of having a daughter-in-law I could treasure and a new extended family through her relatives. I can very clearly see that is not going to happen. I asked my sister-in-law to pray for God to protect my heart and help me deal with this or I am going to lose my son due to my inability to deal with these people. I can’t handle their snobbishness and disinterest. Then I received my KSLR “Encouragement for Today” email message at work and saw the post with your book. I just feel like you are my last hope for help in trying to conquer these feelings of inadequacy. I am really drowning in emotions right now and none of them are good.
I am in the process of reading your book and every chapter hits home. And now I see you have an online study guide to go with it, I will be all over that as soon as I finish this post. Thank you Thank you for writing this book. It’s a must read for everyone!
I love your A.M., F.M. analogy, how awesome! When I get down about myself God reminds me of Jeremiah 29:11. He knows the plans He has for me, He promises me a future and a hope. God shows me His plan is the BEST! When God gives me scripture and revelation to ‘see’ His plan I know His Love for me is never ending!
Today’s Proverbs 31 devotional where you stated “conflict, criticism and comparison had sent me into the shadows of doubt” spoke out to me. In times of insecurity, I’m going to remind myself of Philippians 4:13 and Psalm 139:14. Thank you for those awesome reminders.
It’s amazing how Satan can get us down through other people. He attacks us in our friendships, co-workers and in our home lives. I have been so down lately feeling as though I am unworthy of love. I need your video to show me I AM worthy. Jesus died for me, we are all unworthy of his love. The beauty is, is that he is so generous to us and invites us to his table and fills us with joy regardless of our sin. Thank you for your encouragement today!
I have had self doubts much of my life. I’ve never felt quite as “good” as others. This has especially been a problem since losing my 27 year old son 2-1/2 years ago. Since then, I have isolated myself, gained 40 lbs, and the jobs I have been able to find, I always thought I wasn’t good enough – that people didn’t like me. Now, with the weight gain I’m embarrassed to even be seen by anyone who knows me, so I isolate myself even more.
This morning, some things that have triggered this self doubt and lack of confidence was having to go to my home town to get a document needed for a new job I will be starting in a couple of weeks. I wanted to spend some time in my home town, but instead, I went straight to the place I needed to go, back in my car and to the cemetery to visit my son. I didn’t even stop to get a soda !
This is no way to live. I am so tired of it and know something needs to change. I am 51 years old and want to live the rest of my life in some kind of peace – not to mention the fact that I have to work to take care of myself.
The main thing that stood out to me from your video message this morning is what I “think”, I will eventually “feel” which in turn will help me to “live” a life without doubt and with confidence. “Think – Feel – Live”. Thank you !
Tami…..my prayers are with you. Though I have not experienced any where near the grief you have, I feel I can say that God is with you no matter what. When we don’t have the strength to stand I know that God will lift us up. When we don’t have the strength to lift our eyes, our hearts, or our hands to Him he will call someone to stand in the gap for us and hold us up. I am praying that God will bless your life with comfort, peace and joy.
Renee, Your P31 devotion spoke directly to me this morning. God has impressed on my heart to step out of my comfort zone and begin sharing with women how God redeemed my past so that they do not make the same mistakes. Not an easy proposition, being that transparent! The doubts are there, but I am encouraged by taking my eyes off of me and looking at the One whose plans are greater than my abilities. Thank you for encouraging me today.