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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The sentence that caused me to pause was “But I’ve found that when I choose to dwell in the assurance of Whose I am and who I am in Him, I have a confident heart.”
Thank you for turning our thoughts and attention to “digging deep into the heart and character of God so we can learn to depend on His heart toward us.” We are created in HIS image! His image, His character is the place where we will find who we are to be, what He wants for us to do. This has to be our daily spiritual discipline like the Children of Israel picking up manna in the desert. Looking forward to the 12 chapters/weeks of disciplining my heart and mind in the character of Jesus – taking every thought captive to Him! What a blessing to do this study with so many others around the country! We are doing it with a weekly group, too!
I am truly excited about this online study. I read Chapter 1 twice and God really spoke to my heart. I myself have lacked confidence and had self doubt from a child although not too many people know because I was or might i say am now good at covering it up. When I saw the statement in the book regarding that I said wow I am not alone. I would back out of things or just not go if I thought somebody wanted me to do or say something because I lack self confidence. I would even have ideas about things and they wew good only to let others speak out and say what I would have said or done. Self doubt can be paralyzing and that is what I got from this chapter. But God spoke to me through the Scripture Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing. This lets me know that things will not be the same and that I will be and do what God has for me. I will have the confidence necessary to fulfill the destiny he has set. That promise “I will do a new thing” just makes my heart glad.
I loved the part about going beyond believing in Him to really believing Him! In order to really believe Him, I need to spend more time with Him. You only can trust someone by getting to know that person more and more. I feel like this is where my confidence breaks down. I spend entirely too much time online, and that is what I am going to cut down, so that time can be used in learning more about aim, and developing the trust and confidence that is only found in an intimate relationship.
I loved the whole chapter! One of my favorite things was “Praying God’s Word has been one of the most life-changing ways I’ve learned to live in the security of His promises. ‘This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.’ (1 John 5;14) So, there you go: we can be confident we are praying God’s will when we pray God’s Word.” I want to memorize more scripture so that I can incorporate it into my prayer life.
I’m so excited about doing this study! I’ve already read through A Confident Heart once but the messages are so powerful and relevant to my life today that I need to read through it again! I know God is going to show me a fresh revelation that applies to my right-now circumstances and I’m excited to be joining each of you through this amazing journey.
Much of this Chapter I was able to say..”you too?” It was awesome to actually see it in print somewhere else. I often feel quite alone in my feelings. One of the first things that tickled me was the hope that
God would just zap you with self confidence! I have often hoped and prayed for that very same zap, but have also come to the conclusion which you mentioned, and happened to be one of the parts which tugged at my heart – it is only when I recognize, and I believe in whose I am and who I am in Christ, can I live with a totally confident heart. I won’t pretend that Im 100% there, i struggle each day to see who I am in God (work in progress), but I know as long as I ask Him He will show me just that.
I really like your post!
the sentence that spoke most to me is pg 23 about Doubt keeping me from believing things can get better. I have been thinking the thoughts “its too hard, I might as well quit (on my marriage). I am tired of crying the same tears about the same problems without seeing change. I hear God speaking to me to look at him instead of the troublesome circumstances in my life.
What has been on my heart since reading this first chapter, is that if my hope in God, I will not be disappointed. Been reflecting on are part of my doubts being overpowering due to past disappointments. I had not thought of that as being part of my insecurities.
Turn toward the light….so easy, but yet so hard to do!!! Trust and believe…Be obedient to God’s word and his plan for us!!! I really like the thought of him “doing a new thing” I want to be NEW, renewed and refreshed….and, full of confidence!
I read this book last fall and now reading it again while doing this bible study is so more meaninful to me. I am a wdow struggling with an alcoholic daughter and the words doubt and hope cannot live in our hearts at the same time really made me realize that I have to quit doubting that God is in control and live with the hope that his will will be done and I can take comfort in that his plans are to prosper me and not harm me but give me hope and a future.
Sandy, I also have a daughter who is an alcoholic. I will be praying for you and your daughter. As I read, I also realized the truth of the inability of doubt and hope to live in our hearts at the same time. Alcoholism can certainly cast a large shadow. But our God is bigger!
I am a recovering alcoholic – 11 years sober. I was a low bottom drunk. There is hope! God does not waste a hurt!
See, I am doing a new thing.-Isaiah 49:13. God promises our life will change, but why does this statement and promise terrify and paralyze me at times? The idea of new?
“The unknown is too scary. Although you’ve been miserable, at least the misery is familiar where you are now.” pg 21
–Boy, have I been there, too afraid to step out in faith, but at times angry at how I’ve allowed my fear to hold me to things that are not “new”.
I WANT NEW, (no matter how scary), and God promises it to me!! I believe Him!
I am sure I got something totally different than anyone else because I was totally ecstatic when I read you adopted from Ethiopia! My husband and I are in the process; we are currently waiting on our referral! Awesome!
My description of a woman with a confident heart: One who looks at difficulties and challenges as another way for God to “show off” and she can laugh and be joyful knowing she is secure in God’s hands. Does this sound a little like the Proverbs 31 woman?
As far as the question of what I can cut back on this week to allow more time with God: I am committing to cut back on the amount of time spent obsessing over what went wrong and spend more time in God’s promises.
“Help my rely on the power of Your promises and live like they are true.”
This is the most profound statement to me. I have to learn to live like they are true even when I don’t feel like it. When I don’t feel like they are true. When I am in a pity party and don’t feel like I want to live like they are true. I have to always live like they are true. If I live like they are true they will become true in my life. This is a similar tactic that Satan uses. He whispers lies in our ears. We hear it enough and start to think about it long enough so we begin to believe it. When we believe it, it becomes true in our life or so we think. So, if I can “believe” the father of lies and live like his words are true, I should be able to live like God’s words are true. Even when I don’t “FEEL” like it.
The one thing that hit me again right between the eyes was that God was for me and that he loves me with a love that is unconditional. That really speaks volumes to me. I did not hear “I love you” from my dad so just hearing it from God is so powerful. He is my Father here on earth and he is for me in everything I do. That gives me hope and strength to keep going with God on my side. I am feeling more confident with just hearing this.
After reading the beginning of this book, I knew it was something I had to get involved in right now. Struggling with confidence has been a life long issue for me and I’m ready to have God-confidence and live out what He has planned for me giving Him glory always and in every circumstance.
Jeremiah 17:7 really hit me hard. I need to not just have my hope in HIm, but let Him be my hope. Wow, how powerful is that? Thank you so much Renee for sharing your heart and for allowing God to use you to help us. Let’s be blessed!!!!
“God calling you to serve Him in way that requires steps of faith, but insecurity has convinced you that you’re not smart enough or gifted enough.” I struggle with this alot. I know in my heart that God has great plans for me, but I have alot of self doubts. I doubt my ability to hear God or even undersatand what His word says in order to apply it to my life. One of the things I believe God is calling me to do is leadership, but I feel very uncomfortable when I have to speak in front of a group of people. I want to overcome this because I want to live in the plans that my Daddy has set for me.
I bought A Confidant Heart a few months ago…before I heard there would be an online study. Something in one of Renee’s online devotions resonated with me. I have been encouraged by reading the comments and finding I am not alone in my insecurities, fears and doubts. I have always had these, but as someone else noted, they have intensified as I have aged. I have allowed some difficult family situations to become the “shadows.” Additionally, we have four beautiful daughters (ages 17-22). As our nest is almost empty, I have discovered just how much of my identity has been “mom.” This past year, in particular, I have lost hope that I will ever be rid of fear and insecurity; page 23 addresses this despair. It encouraged me last month when I read it and again yesterday when I re-read it: “…we need to know and believe that change is possible. We need to hope that life can be different. Otherwise, doubt will win every time and our hearts will be eroded by attitudes and emotions of defeat–but it is not supposed to be this way. God declares with confidence that things can change–‘See, I am doing a new thing!'” A quick request: please pray I find a job that works with family life and in which I can use my gifts and abilities. Fear has held me back for so long.
I am so grateful to read Iam not the only mom who’s identity was lost in her children….I wait patiently for the day I know who I am in Me and nothing but me alone in Christ!! Love to you…Praying…