I was completely blindsided. I’d been called into a meeting at my church with another women in leadership who was upset with me. She’d been upset with me for months, but I had just found out about it.
Someone had told her I didn’t agree with the way she was leading. But that wasn’t at all what I’d said – months before – in a meeting with several other leaders. I had simply been asked my opinion about a situation and I shared my thoughts and they weren’t directly about her at all. And I was so sad that I was just being asked about it, several months later.
I was hurt. She was hurt. We both volunteered countless hours in ministry, pouring our hearts and our lives into women in our church. All the while, we were on the same team and assumed we both fully supported one another. But now the trust we had built for years was coming unraveled.
It was a mess. I was a mess.
I was done. I decided I wasn’t strong enough. Wasn’t resilient enough. And I was exhausted from trying.
That afternoon I went home and cried. Told God I was ready to call it quits. Laying my head down on my desk, I said I couldn’t do it anymore.
But… {my heart whispered} there was more to it… “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
I knew in that moment if I was willing to die to myself and completely rely on Christ in Me I could experience resurrection power.
I could walk away from God’s calling on my life or I could allow Jesus to live HIS life through me.
I could die to my desire to protect myself from getting hurt again and choose to tap into His power by relying on the strength of His Spirit in me .
I wasn’t enough … wasn’t strong enough, resilient enough, or humble enough. But Christ in me was more than enough.
In my P31 devotion today, I talked about how we can turn away from our feelings of defeat and doubt by living in the Light of God’s Truth. And here is one of the most important truths:
Jesus did not die on the cross just to get us out of hell and into heaven. He died on the cross to get Himself out of heaven and into us! That is resurrection life – and the very place where we get our enough!
If you have been crucified with Christ, you no longer live, but Christ lives in you!! The life you now live in the body, you can choose to live by faith in the Son of God, who loved you and gave himself for you.”
When you feel inadequate, remember God says: You are CHOSEN.
“‘You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he’” (Isa. 43:10).
When you feel afraid, remember God says: You are REDEEMED.
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine” (Isa. 43:1).
When you feel unloved, God says: You are LOVED.
“You are precious and honored in my sight, and . . . I love you” (Isa. 43:4).
When you feel forgotten, God says: You are REMEMBERED.
“See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (Isa. 49:16).
When you feel insecure, God says: You are SECURE.
“Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders” (Deut. 33:12).
When you feel unable or unstable, God says: You are ABLE.
“The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights” (Hab. 3:19).
When you feel worthless, God says: You are CALLED.
“Youare a chosen [woman], a royal [priest], a holy [daughter], God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Pet. 2:9).
DOWNLOAD PRINTABLES of today’s promises {in MSWord} OR {in a PDF}.
Lasting Confidence Giveaway: Enter to WIN 2 signed copies of my book, A Confident Heart, a Starbucks gift card and a Bath& Body works yummy fall treat! To enter, simply leave a comment below this post where it says “SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS” and do just that – you can share your thoughts about about today’s post or my devotion :-).
PS. Be sure to DOWNLOAD a free PRINTABLE of today’s promises {in MSWord} OR {in a PDF}.
What a beautiful new word ‘God-fidence’! I cannot wait to get your new book! It is much needed by me…Thank you so much!
I recently had my self-confidence shaken. This word is very timely for me. Thank you.
Thanks you for today’s devotional. It’s always a nice reminder to stop doubting ourselves and remember who created us.
Thank you!
I loved this devotion. Thanks. I like the thought of Christ died to come into us. That gives much strength.
Thank you for today’s devotional . I loved the comparison of the shadows and light. I am also going to print the today’s promises you have above.
This is a great book, I love to gift this to a couple women and do as a small group study! This is definitely one of those books that has helped me and something I needed 20 years ago, confidence!
Today’s devotional went straight to my heart. I could almost feel the tug on it, and hear God whispering “pay attention, I had her write this message for you”
Today’s message blessed my downtrodden soul! I had a really, really bad day yesterday….. I was ready to quit – EVERYTHING!! Today, I feel unbeatable, unstoppable, unbreakable – because HE that is in ME, is greater than he that is in this lowly world!!! Thank you for sharing – I will be printing this and hanging it where I can read it all of the time!!
Thank you for this devotional. Because of emotional abuse suffered in seventh grade, I have suffered times of inadequacies. I needed the reminder that I am all I need to be in Christ. He formed me in my mother’s womb just the way He wanted me to be. I also needed to be reminded that I am the one who is blocking the Light. My prayer is to remember to rest in the Light and see myself as Christ does.
In the midst of my storm these words were like water to my soul in the midst of it It is a reminder of who I am in Christ and puts my focus back where it belongs. On Him. Thank you for this today.
It’s a good day for this devotion on self doubt . It’s been a tearful morning. I struggle so much with frustration concerning my weight and my age. Most people don’t seem to understand how much it hurts to et past the young and pretty stage. I need to figure out how to deal with this.
Today’s P31 devotion really hit home and I wanted to say thanks. I can relate very much to the blog post too. I have been walking around the last few days feeling 100% inadequate for the tasks I have been handed and very overwhelmed. I want to take everything wrong and make it mine. It is selfish, destructive and not relying on God at all! Thank you Renee!
Thank you for this!! I have been feeling weary, and overwhealmed from going to school, homeschooling my 3 boys and in the midst of a divorce. This came just in time!! i needed to hear them all!! Thank you!!
Oh…why in the Body do we do this…we went through very painful fellowship spilt…just because someone did not come and ask my husband directly about what he shared…my husband who is somewhat like EF Hutton…very quiet and wise…but when he speaks people listen. He said a statement…a one sentence concern…almost a year later…we got why we were treated differently…this person who heard my husband…went to everyone but him…such damage was done…we tried to reconcile…but we had be so vilified by then…no one was interested. and one of the people was my sister and her husband…we were close as any twins…even though we not.
This can shake us to our core…but God’s grace is big enough and strong enough…and He is our strength…thanks for these reminders…and the encouraging words. blessings to you~
My 17 year old daughter has been going thru alot of things socially at school where she is having to dig deep and find where her security lies. She’s having to take a stand for what our Lord says is “right” even though socially it might make her an outcast. In my attempts to counsel her, I am realizing my own insecurities. The years of living in an abusive marriage; the years of single parent living; and then the redemption of God in a marriage ordained by Him! Talk about insecurities! God speaks to us in many ways, thru His Word, thru others, thru prayer and even thru these P31 Blogs. I have shared these blogs with my daughter. It never amazes me that when I open my email, I find a Word in these blogs that directly confronts the insecurity she and I are facing. Bless all of you P31 Women for being a willing vessel. God is good all the time; All the time God is good. Be blessed today!
Thank you so much, Renee, for this devotional. I need to remind myself of these truths daily. I have a family situation right now that has been pulling me down emotionally and causing me to feel unloved, inadequate, unworthy, and a failure. The thoughts and Scripture you shared were such an encouragement. Thank you, Renee, for allowing God to use you and your experiences to encourage us and to focus us on God’s truth. God’s Word is truly amazing and when we apply it to our lives, He changes us one baby step at a time.
Thank you so much for your devotion today on self doubt. I have struggled with this for years but over the last couple of years God has shown me so many truths in Him. I have began to focus on Him and who He is and in turn the focus is not on my insecurities anymore. Thanks for all you do. God bless you!
Sometimes self-doubt creeps in quietly, and this was a great reminder that through Christ we are more than able. Thanks for the encouragement to keep our hearts focused so we can live in the confidence that can only come from Him!
I have grown so much in my walk with the Lord because of your inspired devotional. I think if we as women are honest with ourselves, we all struggle with self-doubt and self-worth, some on such a high level that is has inhibited them to really live. They merely exist! That describes my sister-in-law to a “T”! She has so much to offer but constantly lives in that shadow you described. Thank you for this opportunity to get the chance to win 2 copies of your book. When I read this devotion today, my sister-in-law immediately came to mind. Whether I’m chosen to receive your giveaway or not, I am definitely going to make sure she and I get a copy of your book. In fact, I am going to give all the women in my family the book for Christmas. May God continue to use you and bless your ministry! Your sister in Christ!!
Thanks so much for sharing your insights and doing God’s work. I relate in some way to every devotion of yours that I read. God bless you.
This devotional today is straight from God. I am so paralyzed by feelings of insecurity. I have printed God’s promises and placed them directly in my line of site beside my computer monitor. Sometimes it’s so easy to ignore what God says about me and defer to what other’s may think about me. My prayer is that today I take full advantage of God’s mercies and compassion being new every morning and He will be able to use me for His Glory. Thank you Renee.
This is just icing in the cake for what I have been going thru! He spoke to me in this devotion and scripture…I’m printing this on off! Thanks Renee !
I love the encouragement you give to women! I think it’s something we all struggle with…whether we are good enough. I’m just learning myself that I most certainly AM good enough – all because of God!
I read both the blog post and the devotion. I had read the devotion at another time in the past, but it really spoke to me in a new way today. Our family is about to put our house up for a short sale. This is very unsettling and I am feeling very insecure and unsure. I am a stay at home mom and our son is almost 3. We’ve only been here around 2 years and our house was brand new when we got here. We are the first owners. This is the first home brand new home that we have ever lived in. I have moved about 30 times over the course of my 34 years of life and I thought I wouldn’t ever have to move again. I want to be settled. I want to feel secure. I want to know what is next for us. The Holy Spirit has encouraged me over the course of the last 24 hours since our decision to get a vision. I don’t know where we will live next, but I can dream and get a vision and leave it in God’s hands. I can think about what I would like in our next home. I may not get it all and it may not look at all like I imagine, but at least I can begin to be hopeful instead of focusing on what we will lose.
I have so many self doubts at times. I would love to read the book A Confident Heart. I think it would help me in my Christian life. Thank you.
Such good words – will share with the women on the card ministry at my church – always like to share words of encouragement with them.
Thank you for allowing GOD to speak through you. I know that whenever I fail myself and others that God never fails. I need to cling to HIS promises daily. Thanks for the list of verses that will encourage me as I trust HIM to care for me.
Normally I receive daily P31 devotions, sometimes I read them, sometime I don’t. One day I was in turmoil and felt inadequate, not deserving of love, having no direction. Just a complete failure as I am not able to provide for my family. Even my dogs are suffering due to our financial instability. I read an article and it was sourced by your book “A Confident Heart”. It was empowering and uplifting I subscribed to your emails. I get a spark when I see the emails come through as I know you are speaking directly to my soul. Thank you for being obedient to God’s will in your life as it has lended a beautiful spiritual outlet for other women enduring the same fears and now can relate and overcome.
I will be 45 yrs old in November & I am a brand new RN. It has taken me years to overcome lack of confidence and self-doubt. I still struggle with it daily, especially as a new nurse at my age. The very person who has implanted the idea in my head that I am not worthy of happiness and confidence is still a very integral part of my life. So my struggle remains but with God’s help I am overcoming it little by little. Ministries such as yours contribute to my success. One way God speaks to us is through others, and your words today have spoken to me, have encouraged me & uplifted me. Thank you and God Bless!
Thank you so much for sharing this devotion and most especially for sharing the printable page of “go-to” verses. I intend to fill my mind and heart with these verses so that when the negative thoughts enter in, I have the power Scripture to overcome.
Thank you for this post. It is perfectly timed for a breaking point in my life. Perfect encouraging words to not allow myself to fall into condemnation but to be convicted and walk forward in gods truth. Thank you for your willingness to share your life.
It seems like I have been fighting things or feelings this whole year….I needed to read this post today to know the truth….that I am HIS daughter and that I’m loved. Thank you for your ministry and being here today when I needed you in a big way. (You are being used….in a good way…through Christ).
I was sitting here praying during my morning quiet time feeling so overwhelmed and ready to quit in relation to some real disappointments and related stress at work. I had just prayed and asked the Lord to send me a word that was solid and very concrete, so I could feel a solid and concrete encouragement. I stepped away from my devotional chair to get a cup of coffee and my phone beeped to let me know I had a new message. I thought, “Maybe it is the Lord,” and it was! He answered my prayer by allowing this message from HIM THROUGH YOU to arrive at the VERY moment I most needed it. Our God is SO awesome!
It saddens me that we have allowed the devil to permeate our thoughts about ourselves to the point that we think so little of ourselves. BUT it delights me that God sent his son for US! and that we can overcome all the things the world throws at us because HE LIVES!! Thank you for reminding me of his overwhelming love for us.
Thank you for being so open to share your heart. I feel blessed every time I read the devotionals. I really needed to hear that I matter to God and the reminder that I am God’s daughter and he wants to live through me. I need to be more of Him and less of me.
As a single mom to 4 small kids, I’ve been struggling with so much inadequacy. When I read your email this morning, it was such a reassurance from God that I am never alone. Thank you for allowing God to speak through you. 🙂
All I can really say is Thank-you. Thank you for trusting the Lord and not quitting, for the example of triumph you set before us. Thank you for those “apples of gold” scriptures, and for the way you so beautifully shared. Teaching us how to trade in our thoughts for the wonderful Truths of God’s words. They instill the hope that we need. And thank you for this wonderful giveaway!
Thank you for a much needed devotion and a wonderful list of verses to keep handy when my lack of confidence wants to creep up, but God is urging me to take the thought captive before it (the thought) takes over.
My most profound insecurity is if I am a good enough mother to my four kids. My youngest is son is living with Autism, and that causes most thoughts of inadequacy. Am I doing enough? Why did God feel that I was strong enough to handle the tantrums, the constant battle for him to toilet train, the teachers, the therapist, and the lack of money for treatments that could work. Are my other children getting enough attention from me? I am a stay at home mom, and that is a job, a career, that rarely gets slaps on the back or high fives for cooking, cleaning, transporting, helping with projects, etc. Being at home, I serve my family better, but money is always tight, and I’m plenty bored, though the work is there. With having my fourth child, I now have issues with my weight, how my body looks. I wonder if I am an adequate wife. Today’s devotion was spot on, and it helped me a lot. I love it when the devotion was written almost specifically for you. This blessed me. Thank you.
Hi Kaysha,
Thank you for choosing to stay home with your kiddos. You are exactly what they need. I applaud you for all you are doing and if we were friends I would give you a big ole hug!
Blessings to you,
Melissa
This was very timely for me as I am facing a similar situation through work where someone said a bunch of untruths and half-truths to someone else about me. And neither the people who said these things or the person who heard it came directly to me to ask. But in my job it’s my role to model healthy relationships. So even though I am hurt and angry and want to quit, I have to find a way to put those feelings aside and talk about what happened and how to go forward from here. I know that I cannot do this on my own strength and with my own words & will have to rely on God’s strength and God’s grace to get me through. It is always a blessing when someone else shares how they got through as well.
Thank you!
I must die to my desire to protect myself from getting hurt again. I must choose to tap into His power by relying on the strength of His Spirit in me. That is exactly what I must do. Thank you, Renee! Thank you, Jesus!
Blessings All!
This morning, after being convicted of holding tightly, once again. to rotten thoughts and lies from the enemy, I was overwhelmed, once again, at the number of scripture that speak to God’s great love, care, provision, desire for us, for me. Thank you for reminding us, reminding me, of our Father’s great love.
Sheeese! where to start…. I was rolling around my house talking with God asking Him to help me to let go of some potentially horrific scenarios should they be played out like the incessant dramas imagined in my mind (re: a few people’s situations dearly connected to my life) and just really trying not to beat myself up but to truly believe what He was saying to me “Perfect love casts out fear” But Lord, if only I had of trusted you 24 years ago…. “Oh ye of little faith” If only…I knew that I was truly hearing from you and not imagining that I was talking with you “Do not fear, for I shall be with you in the flood” If only, I were a better Mom, wife, homemaker, Grandmother…a neater person, if I could only…If only, I would get to church more consistently……if only, if only, if only….. THEN I thought to myself let me go read Encouragement For Today, before I go nuts!!! Maybe God would confirm His love for me and let me know (again) that He has everything under control! And with tears in my eyes, I just started to melt into a smile as my heart began to take courage once again! Thank you for sharing Renee I really needed this today!!!! Irene McColl
Thank you, Renee. Your words were exactly what my heart needed at 3 in the morning. 🙂
Thank you for your energy, faith and sharing heart.
Thank you for sharing everyday with all of us that think that our issues are only ours. Thank u for all of your wonderful words and the encouragement
I found this through Proverbs 31 Ministries, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. All I ever do is doubt myself and see myself as unworthy in the eyes of God and everyone else around me. I would love to have a copy of the book so I can learn more about how to overcome those doubts that trouble me so much.
Renee, your devotions continue to be water for my soul and I would LOVE to receive your book! Thank you for always pointing us to the Light and sharing your heart and gift!
Thank you for sharing your devotion. Its exactly what I needed. GOD-FIDENCE 🙂
Within the past month, more so than ever before, I’ve felt so inadequate. The ironic part is that things in life are going well, but I have so much self doubt. I just don’t ever feel good enough. Most devotions I read sound good and nice and helpful for others but your post and devotions was definately placed for me. God is definately using you to minister to me. Thank you so much for reminding me that God is always my light just as everything else he made is perfect in his eyes, so am I. 🙂 thank you for blessing me today
I want to thank you for your article on self-doubt. I am constantly guilty of that, and you helped me to realize that I am also hurting God when I doubt, not just myself. I’ll be praying for more self control so I can have God-fidence!! Keep up the great work! Thanks again!!
i really enjoy your blog Renee! Its always so uplifting!