With Confidence

Photo Credit: Benjie Bensing / Benghazi Beach, Libya

Day after day, we plan for the future despite of the fact that none of us knows what will happen tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow. This desire to conquer the odds with resolute tenacity, even though we don’t see what lies ahead, is called confidence.
Abraham has such confidence, and even more: he has faith. When God made a covenant with him in Genesis 12:1-3, Abraham chose faith in an impossible situation in the sense that:

1.He does not know if the promise land that God will give to him and his descendants actually exists

2. He is already well-advanced in years and his wife Sarah is known as barren; therefore the descendants promised to him would seem impossible at that time

3. He does not know if God will fulfil the blessing of redemption to his descendants, or, if the families of the earth will be blessed through him

In many ways, the same is true with the Psalmist. David says, “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” (Psalm 27:13 NIV)

God made a promise to David that his son will sit in the throne of Israel and his kingdom will be established forever. David was anointed to be king of Israel during his teenage years by no less than the prophet Samuel (1Samuel 16:13). But before he can be crowned king, he has to overcome a lot of adversities and has to rely solely on God in order to survive. David was hunted from place to place and his enemies plotted to kill him on several occasions.

David was saying that “had I not relied on the promise of God and been assuredly persuaded that He would safely preserved me, I would have been dead a hundred times before”.

Yet David lived to see how great the Lord Almighty is. God’s promise was partly fulfilled when at the age of thirty (30) he was crowned king of all Israel (see 2Samuel 5:3-4). He also lived to see his son Solomon ascend to the throne of Israel (1Kings 2:12). When Jesus reigns for all eternity, as a son of David, it will be the fulfilment of God’s promise to David.

This is a powerful reminder for us believers to always have the confidence that we will see the goodness of the LORD, that while we are still alive He will bestow upon us His divine favor so we can enjoy His blessings.