Coming Out From Behind Our Confidence Crisis

Late last night my girls and I sat on the kitchen counter eating dark chocolate chips right out of the bag and talking about life and friends and ice cream flavors and Jesus. And in the midst of our moonlight chatter, my seventeen-year-old said:

“It’s great to have friends who share your faith, but the best kind of friends are the ones who stretch your faith.”

Maybe that’s why I’m so excited to introduce you to my friend, Suzie Eller.  Suzie doesn’t just share my faith, she stretches it. Suzie doesn’t just write about God’s Word, she makes me hungry for it. Suzie doesn’t just talk about loving Jesus, she ignites my love for Jesus.  Suzie is the best kind of friend.

Not long ago, Suzie wrote a beautiful book called The Spirit-Led Heart.  I’ve been savoring every single page this summer as I read and re-read her invitation to live hand-in-hand with the Helper Jesus has given us. I think you’l be inspired and STRETCHED by Suzie’s message, too. And if you leave a comment before you go, you’ll be entered to win your own free copy of The Spirit-Led Heart.

It’s an honor to welcome the best kind of friend to Overflow today…

 

There it was. Instant access 24/7 to people’s thoughts.

It’s not near as cool as I thought it would be.

In fact, sometimes it’s pretty discouraging. Debates. Opinions. Drama, oh so muchdrama.

And sometimes – this is the hardest part – it was from people who are my brothers and sisters in Christ, and I wasn’t quite sure what to do with that.

As a result, there was something spiritually unhealthy taking place inside of me.

Cynicism.

It was the beginning of a personal confidence crisis.

Though I loved God with all my heart, I was losing faith in humanity.

We all struggle with confidence crises from time to time. Yours may not look like mine. We struggle when a relationship is in a hard place. It’s challenging when we take a huge step of faith and it doesn’t go the way we thought.

Sometimes a confidence crisis can come even when we receive something good. For example, when that dream or goal is finally coming true. It’s exactly what we prayed for, but suddenly  it feels way too big.

The root of most confidence crises is fear.

• Fear of failure.
• Fear that we’ll be misunderstood.
• Fear that we can’t fix it.

Those are only a few of the fears that can fuel a confidence crisis.

This is nothing new. In John 20:19, we find the early church smack in the middle of a confidence crisis. It was Sunday evening and they were behind locked doors, afraid of the Jewish leaders. What’s interesting about this timeline is that they just witnessed the empty tomb that very day.

Yet here they are hiding, locked behind a barred door, afraid.

While fear is the root of most of our confidence crises, our faith is the target.

As long as the early church remained behind that locked door, the work that Jesus told them to was at a standstill.

What I love most about this story is how Jesus approached them. He didn’t knock on the door. He didn’t call them to come out from behind the locked door. He showed up among them – right in the midst of their fear.

For the next 40 days Jesus assured them of these things:

• I am who I say I am.
• Everything I have ever told you is still true.
• Everything I said you could do, you can still do – and even greater (John 14:12).

Jesus loved them enough not to leave them behind a barred door, afraid. He walked with them until they realized that they had everything they needed to be world changers.

What is our barred door?

It’s wherever fear wants to lead us.

It’s where a very real enemy desires to keep us. Personally and as a church.

My barred door was growing cynicism. I could stay behind that locked door, which kept me isolated and frustrated, or I could ask for help.

Jesus promised each of us an Advocate —  someone who fights for us (John 14:16). When the early church began to pray and trust in that promise, rather than feed their fear, they became world changers. They stepped from fear to faith, and from their confidence crisis to courage. They were still ordinary. Just like me. Just like you.

When my feelings start to lean toward cynicism, I recognize it as a locked door. And I ask for help.

When I do, it cracks open that barred door.

And an ordinary woman who loves Jesus like crazy is free to do everything he said I can do, and greater.

Suzanne (Suzie) Eller is a Proverbs 31 Ministries writer, a bestselling author, Bible teacher, speaker, former radio host, and popular blogger. Her newest book, The Spirit-Led Heart: Living a Life of Love and Faith Without Borders, has just been released. In this book, Suzie shares that we try to do big things for God in our own efforts and grit to see them through. Eventually though, we find ourselves sputtering along like an old car, a little empty and a lot uncertain about our faith and purpose. The promise Jesus made is that with the Helper, we will not be alone or ill-equipped.

You can find out more about Suzie or The Spirit-Led Heart at www.tsuzanneeller.com/spiritledheart.

Download two chapters of The Spirit-Led Heart absolutely free

(http://tsuzanneeller.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Eller_SpiritLedHeart.pdf).

You can connect with Suzie on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SuzanneEllerP31.

For your chance to win a free copy of Suzie’s new book, tell us about a fear Jesus has helped (or is helping) you conquer. Or if you’re in a hurry, just respond, “I need a Helper!” Winner will be notified on Monday, June 25. (US addresses only, please.)