The Not So Secret to Strong Confidence (Proverbs 14:26 & Proverbs 30:26)
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Proverbs 14:26
‘In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge’.
Proverbs 30:26
‘The rock badgers are a people not mighty, yet they make their homes in the cliffs’.
This verse (Proverbs 14:26) right here gives us the not so secret to strong confidence.
‘In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence…’.
Did you notice what it doesn’t say?
It doesn’t say, “In yourself, you have strong confidence.”
It doesn’t say, “In your achievements, in your skills, or in your circumstances, you have strong confidence.”
No, no, no. Absolutely not.
‘In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence’.
Now, that’s an interesting statement, isn’t it? You could call it a Christian paradox—strong confidence issuing out of fear. But this isn’t a fear that enslaves. It’s not the kind of fear that leaves you trembling or trapped. No, no, no. Absolutely not. This is a fear that emboldens.
The fear of the Lord is an affectionate reverence for God. It's a humble submission to His will, His wisdom, and His ways. And what does Psalm 112:1 say of this person? “Happy is the person who fears the Lord’.
This is the kind of person who knows their weakness, understands their dependence on God, and finds strength in Him. They understand that if you want strong confidence, you must first understand that you are weak—incredibly weak.
Proverbs 30:26 gives an example of rock badgers, saying ‘the rock badgers are a people not mighty, yet they make their homes in the cliffs’.
Rock badgers are relatively tiny creatures that don't have the speed or strength to stand against a large predator, but they make their homes in cliffs and make the strength of the rock their strength to stand against any attack. The rock is their confidence.
In the same way for us, we must realize and humbly recognize our weakness. We simply cannot stand in our own strength against the many predators after us, whether they come from our own flesh and sinful desires, or the world, or the enemy. It doesn’t matter. We’re weak, and it is to our significant advantage to work ourselves into the rock of Christ!
To make His strength our strength. To make His confidence our confidence.
That’s the way to strong confidence. The most confident Christians are the ones with the most dependent, fixed, and trusting hearts in the Lord.
And here’s the reality: confidence has to be placed somewhere. The world will tell you to place it in yourself—your gifts, your accomplishments, your reputation. But as 1 Corinthians 4:7 reminds us, “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?”
At the end of the day, I think it’s pretty simple: why would you place your confidence in your own flesh—your flesh that fails—when you could place it in the God who never fails? Why would you not stake your confidence on Christ the solid rock, when all other ground is sinking sand?
This confidence in Christ I’m describing doesn’t crumble under pressure. It doesn’t melt when the heat turns up. Just look at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow to anyone but God, they were unshaken in their confidence.
Why? Not because they thought they were great. No. Not at all. It’s because they thought the God they served was great. It’s because their confidence wasn’t in themselves. It wasn’t in their circumstances. It was in God and God alone. They made the strength of the Rock their own strength. God was their ‘refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble’ (Psalm 46:1).
And the beautiful thing is you and I can have that same strong confidence today. We, too, are children of the Most High God. When we walk in the fear of the Lord—when we humble ourselves before Him and trust Him wholly and completely—we can rejoice in confidence, no matter the conflict, no matter the circumstances.
So let me ask you: where are you tempted to place your confidence and where have you placed your confidence?
If it’s anywhere but God, you’ll find it sinking, crumbling, and hollow. There’s no meat on that bone. But when God is the source of your strength, when He is the rock in which you hide yourself in, when you ‘practice’ the fear of the Lord (Psalm 111:10), He becomes your refuge, your protection, and your unshakable confidence, no matter the fire or storm that comes.
Picture with me for a second what your life would look like if you had this confidence we see here in Proverbs 14:26 (and Proverbs 30:26).
Whatever that picture is in your mind, let’s take that to the Lord in prayer.
