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).
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Today’s Scripture promises brought me to tears. I’m feeling broken lately. I’m stressed and overwhelmed, and in those weak moments I forget just how much I’m loved by my Heavenly Father, and I don’t have to be everything, because He is everything. His strength is made perfect in my weakness. Thank you for sharing God’s love today.
I have been struggling with no confidence for almost 9 yrs. My husband had an affair, we divorced and he married the woman he had the affair with. Things only got worse. I was diagnosed with Crohns and Colitis which made it hard for me to work. Which then lead to not being able to pay for utilities. So I lived without electricity for more than half the year. I also could not pay taxes and now lost my home of about 30yrs. I felt no confidence and no hope. But, God was ther with me through all of it. So many times I felt like giving up. . I was between doors and it was very dark there. With no hope, no place to go; homeless. At the last minute my daughter told me to call some old friends we knew and they had me move here. The door of the past has closed and I have stepped into the light! I still lack confidence, and this morning a friend sent me me this article!
Thank You!
A friend emailed me this article and just 6 months ago I would have been so insulted. The funny thing is -what you described above could have easily happened to me but thank God it didn’t. He has renewed my heart in so many areas. I am grateful for God’s movement in my life and the way He shows me step by step without overwhelming me the same way life does! I have always felt insecure off and on my entire life. I have reached the point where I can no longer do it. My feelings have gotten the best of me. In your devo, you stated “That afternoon, I realized my self-doubt wasn’t going to just go away. I had to purposefully shift my focus from my feelings of inadequacy to God’s promises of His all-sufficiency and grace in my life.” When I read that my first thought was… uh yeah..know that, but it is so hard to do! HOW do you do that? When your feelings have been buried for so long and you haven’t learned an appropriate way to express how you feel about things or you are afraid to express your feelings, then you don’t just automatically turn to the brilliant, secure woman you know you are way down in there! You hide a lot of things to avoid conflict, to avoid being rejected, or just because hiding has been a common practice your whole life. So I’m so happy to see the plan at the end. I would love to read your book and even share it with the friend who emailed me the devo. Thanks for writing your thoughts of insecurity because I know I am not alone. I know I need to change my prayers because God made me just like this so why would He need to “fix” me? 😉 I’m already fixed! I just have a much needed shift in perspective to make and voice to find… and soon!
I really enjoy all your devotionals. This one on self-doubt is what all women need to hear. Thank you so much for showing us we are truly loved. I loved how you show scriptures with everything we all need to remember. God has truly blessed you with this ministry. Thank you for sharing with others. I struggle with self-doubt on a daily basis and so worry what others think.
Wow, I really needed your devotion this morning! I’ve been struggling with self-doubt for weeks now and it has really affected my attitude, my work, my thoughts, my EVERYTHING! I will hold on to the promises that you shared until the negative thoughts cease. I know that with Christ, I can overcome this. I am normally a very positvie person…I’m kinda known for that. How can Satan attack me…through my greatest strength! He knows I’m not interested in an affair or gossip, but he also knows I’m fragile and that’s where he chose to strike. Thanks and may God bless you for your ministry!
Been having a tough life lately. One thing after another has been piled in on me. My strength is gone. These verses give me renewed hope. Thanks.
Just what I needed today, the encouraginging thoughts and reminder to look to the light!
Really appreciate the Scriptures to help counter negative thought – it’s important to speak God’s truths into our lives to help overcome the enemies lies that we are so vulnerable to listen to and believe and let play in our minds. We need to replace the lies with God’s promises and accept His great love for us.
Thanks for sharing important stuff and for the opportunity to win some fun give away offers. Thanks for being real, Tammy
I HAVE STRUGGLED WITH THIS FOR MY WHOLE LIFE AND TODAYS POST WAS VERYHELPFUL!!
i know the feeling very well
Im so thankful God led you to my devotion today Abby. Praying you will spend a little time here and let Him love on you!! Be sure to check out my FREE resources page { http://reneeswope.com/freeresources/} and I have some FREE video message that will really encourage you heart and remind you of just how valuable you are here {http://reneeswope.com/videos/chvideos/ }
Blessings,
Renee
Thank you for this truth! For a long long time I have been searching for something….the perfect career, the next house project, a puppy, a baby, a new haircut. But nothing seems to make me feel complete. Tonight after I got off work I couldn’t stop feeling like there was something missing from my life and I wanted to know why I felt that way. Then I stumbled across this devotion on proverbs 31 woman’s daily devotion, I believe it was a word from God to my heart telling me that I’m good enough and I’m not missing anything. Thank you for sharing.
I enjoy your emails so much. I look forward to getting them 🙂
I would love to have a copy of A Confident Heart. Please keep doing all you do for all of us ladies out there. U really are an inspiration. Thank You!!
It’s amazing how easily we all fall prey to Satan’s lies about being inadequate. I too have just recently been struggling with these same feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt. One of the verses the Lord showed me is Colossians 3:16 which begins with, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…” I was forced to ask myself, “Am I allowing God’s Word & its truths to change me & to change my self-deprecating thoughts?” I realized I was not focusing on God’s truth about myself. I did not want to be known as the one spoken of in I John2:4 “He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”
Thank you so much for your encouragement and reminder that we who are in Christ ARE indeed adequate — more than that. We are God’s precious children whom He loves and acccepts completly. Today I am so grateful to be called His Beloved!
Thanks for your insights. Very helpful.
COFIDENCE…..such a word has been obsolete my entire life. I’m 27 years old and I’ve grown up in church my whole life. I’ve been taught the Word iof God, lived for Him and helped others in the proccess but I could not escape this empty feeling, this void that I realized I could never fill. Questioning my salvation and worth caused me to backslide. Upon my return to God, I felt a major struggle, was I really delivered? Did he really save me? If so, why do I keep failing, I’m going strong in The Lord for awhile then I find myself in a place I shouldn’t be, doing things I shouldn’t do. Trying to identify the reason I cannot be consistent led to frustration, anger, pity, and depression. I’ve lived surrounded by the shadow of my doubts for so long that it became normal to be. I constantly allow my thoughts to consume me and I can’t seem to get away from them. I get migrains, crying and sleeping day in and day out. I feel like an inadequate mother because of my emotionals issues revolving around my self doubt, my worth and abilities; I get angry with her and push her aside because I cannot think straight to be there for her. I cry out to The Lord for help until I cry my self to sleep. Your Book really blessed me, I feel that The Lord really used you to speak to women like me. There is so much more to my story but I would like to say Thank you. Although I’m still going through this storm, deep down inside I still have hope. I imagine myself being totally free, free from those chains of bondage of low self-esteem, feeling inadequate, incapable of succeeding in anything I do because I’m not educated, I can barely speak, but I love to write. Freedom from laziness and self pity, discouragement and all f those things that keep me from moving forward. Please keep me in your prayers.
Thank you for reminding us who we are in Christ Jesus. The world and incorrect information gives us mixed signals about our Savior. We are made stronger when we know what the Lord has to say concerning His daughters & (sons). Remembering that all (not some, but all) of our help comes from the Lord, and we can do or be nothing except He does it in or through us. Thank you for the list of lies we tell ourselves or allow others/enemy to tell us and for reinforcing the “TRUTH”, the affirmation of the word of God that refutes every lie.
Praise God for you and your heart for the building of His Kingdom.
I really like how you said “Jesus didn’t 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. ” I never thought of it that way before and for some reason it really resonates with me. So thank you for a new thought to ponder!
I absolutely loved your devotion and needed to hear it today. Thank you also for the list of promises. I’m going to print it off as a handy reference.
After having LOVED Confident Heart online study with you, and gaining a huge amount of God-confidence, I find myself under an attack, just as you describe, out of the blue, unknown to me and completely off the radar…hit blindside, but HIT and mine was at work.
Today, I actually shed tears when I read when you feel unable or unstable, God says: You are ABLE. This is exactly where I am.
Just so you know how much this study meant to me…I have shared Confident heart with my daughter, and have a friend coming to share her questions with me weekly; 2 other friends got the book when I told them it was life changing. It really is, and I thank you. Even here in tears…