So excited to start this “Confident Heart” journey with you!
The first thing I want you to remember: This is YOUR journey. You’ll be reading the chapters, listening to God speak to your heart, highlighting sentences, promises and quotes you want to remember and apply. You’ll be answering reflection questions and interacting with the group.
You’ll be doing the work of believing God!
I’ll be shepherding, leading, encouraging, connecting and pacing us. I’ll be sharing my heart and more of my story…because I want you to see you are not alone and give you courage to see and share yours. I’ll be praying for you and challenging you – but you’ll only get out as much as you put in.
Today, I asked the Lord what I needed to give up – so I can give more to Him – and this study. I immediately sensed Him whispering “work.” And I knew it was Him. I love my job and I’ve been working too many late night hours after the kids go to bed. So I’m cutting back the next several weeks to consecrate more of me TO HIM and to you!
What will you cut back on to make time for Him and yourself these next several weeks? I’m really going to challenge you and give you permission to block out at least a little bit of time each day to concentrate on replacing the OLD with the NEW He has for you! Ready? Here we go:
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A Confident Heart Online Study (Day 1)
Read the Acknowledgements (I’ll explain tomorrow why I wanted you to do this).
Read Chapter 1. Please highlight verses and sentences that grab your attention or tug on your heart. What is God saying to you though this chapter? Write down what you sense God speaking to your heart in the margins of your book, or in a journal/notebook that you’ll use throughout this study.
A video message from my heart to yours is coming later tonight. I’ll post it on my website later since I’m not quite ready to post it yet. But I wanted to go ahead get this loaded so you can get started!
I’ll send an email and post on our Confident Heart Facebook page to let you know when the video is up and ready for viewing.
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GROUP CHAT: What sentences in Chapter 1 resonate with you or tug at your heart?
Click “Share Your Thoughts” below (or click here and scroll to the bottom of this post) if you’re reading this via email).
Also, please share one or two on our Confident Heart Facebook Page or on Twitter (@reneesswope) using the hashtag #AConfidentHeart.
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Several things struck me while reading chapter 1. When you said when I choose to dwell in the assurance of whose I am and who I am in him, I have a confident heart. Knowing that god chose me and that he has a purpose for me helps me to stay confident and put my trust in him.
We need to focus on god’s will for our lives and not our own.
It is so true how we often ask God the same thing over and over. When Renee is talking about asking God, once again, to take away her doubt, hit me that I do that all the time. The amazing thing is God knows our needs before we even ask of Him. Instead of getting frustrated, He keeps on loving me despite my doubt and fears. It is my desire to get to the point where I don’t just believe in God’s Word, but REALLLY believe and live it.
The part of the chapter on Listening to Doubt’s Whisper’s really resonated with me. It is exactly where I am right now – paralyzed by insecurity! I am so glad I decided to start this study. I have always been a confident woman until the last few years and now it has all changed. I say I am a child of God but am I really giving myself to Him 100%. Thanks for giving me a safe place to regain my confidence by getting closer to my God.
I have been in and out of self-doubt for as long as I remember. I am praying God will use this book to bring me to a place of no self-doubt. A couple of things spoke to me in Chapter 1. “When I choose to dwell in the assurance of Whose I am and who I am in Him, I have a confident heart.” “Self-doubt blocks the promise of God’s power and truth to change us from the inside out so that we can live with a confident heart.” and lastly, “Doubt and hope cannot live in our hearts at the same time.”
Those last two you mentioned struck a chord with me as well, especially that doubt and hope cannot be in our hearts simultaneously. What a simple way to explain the link between self-doubt and depression/anxiety… we cannot grasp for hope when we are pushing it out of our hearts!
There are two sentences that stuck out to me in chapter 1; “Doubt and hope can not live in our hearts at the same time:, and “When we pray God’s will we pray God’s word”. The second of those two sentences is something that has been on my heart a lot over the past few months, I plan on praying God’s promises daily, I know that the only way to have doubt removed and hope and confidence grow is to pray His promises.
The exact two sentences stood out for me also. Loud and clear!! I need to pray God’s word and promises more. They do make my heart so much lighter. I did like the idea that when we speak them out loud and hear them, the Holy Spirit engraves them on our herts and writes them in our thoughts. : )
That was profound- we cannot serve two masters and we cannot have both hope and doubt (fear) existing in our hearts. I swear the light got brighter when I read that and the shadow shrunk a little!
Oh my I feel a lot lighter from do this lesson, it made me feel better afterwards and now I know what I have to do to stop doubting myself. It shed a lot of light and I answered my questions whole heartily. I look forward for when my book arrives and I could fully read it. Thank you.
This study is coming at a good time, me leading a Bible Study and also feeling that I’m not smart enough to lead. But the Lord told me that I am smart enough, there are no special ways to lead, lead as the Lord challenges you! That is for me, I have accepted the Lord’s challenge. Isaiah 49:23 says, “Then you will know that I am the Lord. Those who hope in me will not be disappointed.” Doubt and hope cannot live in our hearts at the same time. PTL!
The study is coming at a good time for me too…I was abandoned by my husband a couple of years ago and am only now starting to date and am TERRIFIED…of eventually being rejected. To the point where I am nervous around this man that I really really like and am afraid I’m going to scare him off. He’s a Christian too. So Ch. 1 has helped me to realize, if God didn’t mean for us to be put together, it wouldn’t be happening…and God values me and “has plans to prosper me and not harm me”, so…I should CHILL already! I want to disarm doubt and claim hope!
Suzanne, amen! One of the things God is teaching me over the past 6 months is to trust Him to write my love story. He has the perfect plan for us both girlfriend!
At least you are dating. I have not been asked out in longer than I care to think about. I fear online dating (or no one choosing me even online). Which of course all this only adds to my insecurity and feelings of not being enough. There is so much that I need to keep out of because it is Gods business not mine. Even if this is not Mr Right there is a purpose for the relationship. I know this even the bad relationships I have been in have been learning experiences for me.
Chaper 1, p. 24 “The God of all hope is calling you out of the shadow of your doubts so you can live with a confident heart! Are you ready to let His Word change the way you think, which will determine the way you feel and eventually tranform the way you live (Romans 12:2)? I say yes, yes yes!
Liked this too.
As I read chapter1, two sentences jumped out at me. The first sentences that spoke to my heart were from the forward as the author explained how not hearing the words of love and affirmation led to adult insecurities and the second is when the Lord asked her to turn back toward the light. I can relate to the lifelong insecurities. I am anxious to discover how I can overcome my insecurities and fear so I can become the woman I was created to be.
I think my insecurities started to take root at any early age, too, since there was not a lot of praise or affection in my (pretty ordinary) family. Then I got into relationships that left me feeling less-than-cherished. I still feel like I have to prove that I “stand out” from others in order for others to value me. Which is pretty irrational, lots of women are ordinary and they have people that are just crazy about them, right? But what I’ve realized from Ch. 1 already is that the source of my insecurity comes from other people…if I would just focus on what God thinks of me, I should feel treasured, etc. So I’m challenged to learn (memorize) God’s word that deals with this, such as Rom 8:28, so that I will remember who should be the source of my feeling valued!
…source of my insecurity comes from other people…great point!! That is profound to me! Amen sister!
Those were the two statements that struck me in a very special way too. It’s great to see and understand why we got to where we are and how we are going to fix it!
I am so enjoying reading some of these blogs. It totally helps me rethink the chapter and my feelings about some of the readings. I had not thought to much about the shadow but now I am. How much I have lived in a darkness, partly of my own making. I made wrong choices for so long that even when I began walking with Christ and making right choices I doubted myself. I too need to not listen to others or to my own self talk but to trust who God wants me to be and is transforming me into. The homework was hard because I had to look over my past, yet again and I keep beating myself up. I forget to give myself credit for what God has done in my life.
I totally understand what you are saying. I too have doubted myself so much and constantly beat myself up over things I said and done and things I left unsaid and undone. I have questioned myself so much I wasn’t sure if I was distinguishling God’s will, or just hearing my own thoughts. But He has whispered to me “The battle is the Lord’s”, so now when I am fearful and doubting, I pray for the Lord to help me be still and let God fight for me.
I have not done the questions yet, but I do know that my childhood environment contributed- and I look forward to working through exactly how that has played a role, moving forward and looking at the light of hope rather than the shadow of the past.
I was surprised to realize in answering the questions how much of my daily life is plagued with doubt. How I filter the meaning and don’t accept that the scriptues actually apply to me because of the insecure child within me. I will be reminding myself with the scripture, about ‘all things are possible to her who believes,’ this week when my insecure child wants me to procrastinate by reading, wasting time on line or eating something instead of just going forward with the things I need to do in a timely manor.
I agree. Answering the questions helped me so much to see that I have been buillding on past experiences too much. I realized that I need to believe Gods promises even tho experience wants to put so much doubt in me. Thank you so much for this study. I am very excited about what God is going to do in my life!
Becki, I relate to using procrastination as a form of giving in to my self-doubt. I may have a task that needs to be completed, but if I am not confident in my ability to complete it as it should be, I avoid even trying. Sometimes it’s a conscious decision, sometimes a bit more subtle, but it definitely is motivated by an unfounded fear of failing or disappointing. This is one thing that I am hoping to gain control over through Christ and this study, as I know it will bless not only myself but those around me who will benefit from my no longer procrastinating.
I am very excited to start the bible study not only with Renee but to do it along side with my sister-n-law, Jodi. We don’t live in the same town but we vowed to keep each other going and encouraged with reading and asking questions to each other! May God bless each one reading and listening to that small still voice & grow a much more Confident Heart & Confident Lady!!
I have really been looking forward to this bible study. I really believe that my walk with the Lord depends on how much trust I place in Him and how much I believe His promisesare for me. What spoke to me the most on this first day was how you said you went beyond believing in Him to really believing Him! That is the deepest desire of my heart, to really believe Him! Thank you Renee for listening to God and leading this bible study for such a time as this!
Ever since I can remember I’ve been filled with self doubt and it’s worsening as I get older. I instantly related to your feeling fear about speaking in front of a large group… in my past I too have frequently spoken before crowds and would have done anything at the last moment in order to absent myself from doing so. I have also given up many opportunities for advancement because of self-doubt. Your study came to me right at the time in my life when I need it the most. I’m going to pray for all of us that the Lord strengthen you with your teachings and that he renews each of our minds so we are able to see ourselves as God sees us. Thank you.
I can relate to you Andrea. I have also been plagued with self-doubt most of my life. And, as with you, it is getting worse as I get older. I no longer enjoy going to places where there will be a lot of people like the mall or even shopping in a grocery store. I have been spending more time at home. I have a home based business that requires talking to people of all kinds, and even speaking in public at times. I have started not going to meetings etc. because I don’t feel like I meet the standards of the people I meet. My business is really suffering, and my family life is starting to be affected too. This study came to me at one of the lowest times in my life. I am praying everyday that I will change into a confident person with a loving heart.
I can relate totally. My self-doubt affects every relationship I have. I have a very hard time building lasting relationships. I’m praying that this study transforms me into the confident person God wants me to be.
Self doubt also is effecting every relationship that I have. I am in the process of going throuhg a divorce which only seems to magnify my insecurity. What I am finding is that the insecurity has always been there, Ive just been able to mask it with relationships in the past. I think God is calling me to depend on Him alone…but it is so hard!!! Im so excited about this book, Im praying God will use this really get ahold of my heart..
I enjoyed reading the first chapter and like everyone above, I felt convicted with your statement about turning from the shadow and facing the light. Your email really made me stop and think. You listed what you would be giving up for this study. As a working mom, I often use my job as an excuse to put aside time with my God. I know this lack of personal time has a direct effect on my confidence.
I am very excited to be part of this study! I could not wait Saturday and today for my emails about starting. I cannot wait for what God is going to reveal and change in me through this.
“I know this lack of personal time has a direct effect on my confidence.”
I have been noticing that with myself too. And it breeds a terrible cycle that feels like I can’t get out of. But that is a lie. Only Jesus can pull us out. We just have to give Him the signal to jump in the ring. Def have to presevere and sacrifice, trust and surrender to Him. Thanks for concisely stating and cinfirming one of my issues. I was challenged by Renee being led to cut back. Even in figuring that out, I saw how sad I had become. BUT NOTHING can actually satisfy but Him, so the flesh will have to skirm!
As a stay at home mom, I struggled with what I could ‘give up’ since so much of what I do feels very necessary on a daily basis. However, as I look at my day, I know that when my kids both sleep at the same time (which doesn’t happen every day, so it’s a treat) I tend to want ‘me time’ and invariably go to magazines or a tv show. I need to set that time aside for time with God, time to look to the light and be renewed in my spirit to face the challenges of the day.
Lydia, I will be praying for you as you are obedient to Him in setting this special time aside for more of HIs presence. I will also pray that your children will spend more time sleeping at the same time in the coming days and weeks! Blessings to you…
The words have to be more than words, but a knowledge of the Living God behind the words. It is the only way they are believable. Take up the cross and follow me. It’s the follow me that is so difficult as we get caught up in the daily grind of “living”. But is the “living” worth it? No, we certainly cannot rely upon ourselves, the confidence, the peace, the joy only comes through Christ. Come fill me Lord Jesus, increase my trust, so that I might be filled with your confidence and be your mighty servant.
Amen.
So true!
I’m so excited about doing this Bible study again. I did it online with Melissa Taylor this fall and I had done it on my own before that! I feel like I’ve grown so much but still have such a long way to go. I think the thing that’s really jumping out at me this time is how limiting and destructive self-doubt can be. When I trust in God without question I am so strong and sure of myself. But it doesn’t take long for the hiss of the serpent to arrive and make me begin to question the things I thought I was so sure of. So for the third time I’m going to strengthen my self-confidence through the power of God’s Word and this wonderful study and community. I pray that we will all be blessed with God’s love and truth.
Sandee, I also did the Confident Heart with Melissa. I loved it. I learned a lot and have felt like I have made a lot of progress. I am looking forwarded to reading the book again and to going through the study. Proverbs 31 has been such a blessing to me.
I am ready to let God’s word change the way I think, which will determine the way I feel, and eventually transform the way I live! (Romans 12:2) Thank you for this powerful reminder!
Me too!! So glad you are reading and studying with us!! God’s going to do a new thing in each of us!! Believing Him big for each of yoU!
Me too. I am looking forward to experiencing how I think will lead to a new way to feel and live.
I’ve heard the phrase “shadow of doubt” a million times, of course, but when you compared it to your actual shadow on the wall and how it distorts things, something clicked! “Just like my shadow on the wall was distorting my shape, my doubt was distorting my thoughts and overpowering my emotions with confusion and questions.” Simple but powerful. Thank you for this revelation!
I really like your comment about the “shadow of a doubt”. Living with confidence will not happen if I continue to let that shadow of a doubt whisper that God doesn’t care about my problems or that I will never find peace of mind. I struggle with doubts every day and am praying for God’s help to chase them all away!
“shadow of a doubt” really clicked. I have doubted myself all my life, and that big shadow hanging over me brings on alot of negativity and very little confidence in myself as a new christian I am learning to live with more confidence even starting a new job. People dont always realize that I have so little confidence in myself because I hide it by joking or avoid new things, but as I start bringing Christ into my life I have noticed change in my life and a new outlook in all that follows
Shelly,
I really identified with your comment about “a shadow of a doubt” also! The doubts i replay in my mind over and over again, distort the reality of God’s grace and love for us.
That shadow in my bathroom and what God taught me through it completely changed my life because it equipped me to deal with my doubts through by turning towards Jesus in dependence on HIS truth instead of my doubts. So glad it spoke to you!
When God whispered to your heat: You can only see the shadow because you have turned away from the light. Turn back toward the light. That hit me. I need to turn to the light and learn to trust God more and then I will find the self confidence I used to have.
This is the exact comment that struck me in chapter 1. To realize that we really are only in the shadow because we’ve turned away from the Light has a whole new meaning in my life now.
This also meant oodles to me because the Lord reminded me that bigger than any shadow that He is bigger than any shadow that is cast.
That struck me, too. I’m sometimes (too often!) paralyzed by the shadows around me or the ones I imagine coming ahead, and instead, I should be turned toward God, the Light, so I won’t fear the shadows.
“You can only see that shadow because you have turned away from the light. Turn back toward the light.” A good friend of mine once told me that God often whispers to us. Sometimes I want God to scream at me so I can be confident that I’ve heard him. I am learning that God does not need to scream when his light can illuminate the world.
I’ve written here before saying what a great book study God has found for me! I have read a lot of comments. It is so good to know there are women out there who go through the same stuff I go through. Now I’m totally blind. I’ve mentioned before. i have a computer with a speech program and with the proper keystrokes commands that I do, I’m able to do a lot. the only thing i noticed the chapters are p.d.f. files and my computer only reads word files, however, I’ve still been able to be really involved in this. I’m getting the e-mails every week. I’m hearing the videos. Now something interesting I found out Yesterday, I decided to sign up for the seven day doubt diet and I have found the chapters are read. so this is great. I can now read the chapters. Now being blind. I go through a lot of self doubt and hearing negative voices say I can’t do things and believing the negative voices. I pray a lot and God is really helping me every day. and He was so good to find this book study for me! Renee I love what you say at the top of your web site leading women to live confidently in christ! I love that! i want to live confidently in christ! I’ve never done a book study like this beofe and I’m excited! and I’m glad I can read the book and I’m getting it in my e-mail for free! I’m on a limited pension and I live on my own, so, it’s hard to pay for things! i thank god for you renee every day! thank you! and I’m looking forward to connecnting with you all and hope to make some friends. I don’t have a lot of Christian friends I do have negative people in my life and it’s really heard to deal with I have a mother who every time I tell her about something I want to try, she always starts off her sentences with you can’t do that, but you know, Satan uses other people to make us doubt ourselves. so, like a lot of you, i have quite a battle a lot of times, but God is Good amen!
The statment turn back to the light was huge for me. When the fear of _____ gets to be to much and I doubt my actions I have to remeber it is just a shadow. To give my full attention to God and allow him to remove the shadow…
I agree… that really hit me to. I sometimes don’t realize how much I am letting doubt be a shadow and keeping me from the truth of His light! This was a good eye opener that I need to be more aware of that.
Exactly the quote that hit me as well when I was reading this chapter. I am tired of living in the shadows of my own doubt. Ready to live in the light.
I agree as well that was a big eye opener for me as well…I’m excited about looking toward the light and never looking back. 🙂
Great reminder to lean into Him instead of away from him in times of doubt.
This statement goes to the very heart of the issue- I know that for myself, the times when I have not been making time with God a priority in my life is when I struggle the most with self-doubts. So, not only does doubt push out hope, but keeping steeped in God’s Word can push away doubts… I am looking forward to meditating on scriptures I can use to fight against the self-defeatist thought patterns that are a daily struggle.
This is exactly what hit me the most as well. I find myself doubting God and I need to remember he is why I am here. He knows what is best for me, my life, my family, ect. Just follow his lead.