Verse of the Week:
So do not throw away your CONFIDENCE; it will be richly rewarded. - Hebrews 10:35 (NIV)
Chapter 1 Video Links (From Her Green Room):
What is confidence? Confidence means to be convinced of, to have inward certainty or to trust. Chapter one is all about confidence. Not a vain, prideful confidence, but a Biblical, gracious confidence.In this chapter, Jodi speaks of stepping into a major leadership role and how she felt completely unqualified. She likened it to stepping into a pair of shoes that were too big. At first you walk around awkwardly when you are wearing shoes that are too big, but in time, you begin to grow into them. As you grow, your confidence also grows.
Jodi made a decision that despite her feelings of inadequacy, she would keep walking through the doors that God opened. This to me was one of the best thoughts in this chapter. It goes back to the definition of confidence; to trust. If we can learn to trust God, even if it is reluctantly, God will use us. As we trust Him we will develop a confidence, not in ourselves, but in Him. If we have confidence in Him, we can walk through any door He asks us to, confident, not in our own ability, but in His!
Gracious confidence is what helps our feet grow into our too-big shoes. It is developing the gifts God has placed inside of me and doing my best to offer those gifts back to God as He gives me the opportunities, trusting Him with the outcomes.
I love what Jodi says on page 31. "I'm not a better leader because I've been given bigger responsibilities and a few outstanding opportunities. I'm a better leader because I stepped forward (albeit with fear and trembling) into the next thing God called me to, stuffing the toes of those too-big shoes with tissues of trust that He would grow me into His calling."
There are many things I could share from my personal experiences of clomping around in too-big shoes. This post that you are reading right now is one of them. This online Bible Study is one of those things that God kept laying on my heart, the stirring in your chest that Jodi talks about. When I decided I could at least mention it and see what came of it, I never imagined the response I would get would be, "Just go for it!"
I never considered that God would use me to do anything like this and I certainly am not the most qualified woman of this group for such an undertaking. But I am stuffing the toes of these too-big shoes with tissues of trust and walking forward to grow in His calling.
What about you? How well do your shoes fit?
Discussion Questions:
- What are some of the “too-big shoes” that you have stepped into and how did you grow into them?
- Psalm 118:8 says, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.” Read the story of Asa in 2 Chronicles 16:1-10 and describe how and why he put confidence in people instead of God. What was the outcome?
- Read Jeremiah 17:5-10. Considering the strong cautions expressed in those verses, what does it look like today when we place our confidence in others or ourselves instead of God?
- While trusting solely in ourselves is arrogant and a big mistake, there is a gracious confidence that is Biblical, healthy, and necessary for good leadership. Read the following verses and describe how the truth in each section contributes to gracious confidence. (You may choose just one or two).
- Genisis 1:27
- Joshua 1:9
- Psalm 139:13-14,16-18
- Isaiah 64:8
- Jeremiah 29:11
- 2 Corinthians 3:5
- Ephesians 2:10
- Is there anything else about this chapter you would like to discuss or that stood out to you?
