Psalm 139 is such a wonderful reminder of the promises of God that a few years ago, I printed copies to leave sitting on the table next to my chair, on a clipboard in my office, and on the nightstand—all with the intent of memorizing these valuable reminders so that they would always be easily accessed when needed, even without a copy. That action was approximately three years ago and today I can recite through verse four. How would you rate my memorization skills? Ask me the KJV of Psalm 90:2 from second grade and I’m golden! I may only make a single error, but the adult mind doesn’t seem as efficient as the child’s version. One of the motivations for attempting this goal was in efforts to gain a Holy Confidence, the kind of assurance that passages like Psalm 139 provide, like David facing Goliath as Mark Batterson shares in Do It For a Day, or the hundreds of modern stories where friends (like Brice) and family have be asked to Take Courage to face personal storms, struggles, and strife.

“David [in defeating Goliath] looks back at God’s past-tense providence and connects the dots with present-tense circumstances, and it produces faith for future-tense challenges…If God did it before, He can do it again. Our future-tense faith is grounded in God’s past-tense faithfulness. That is where Holy Confidence comes from. We live at the intersection of two theologies, two realities. The faithfulness of God is pursuing us from the past. The sovereignty of God is setting us up for the future. We live at the intersection of so far so God and the best is yet to come.” This leads me to reflect back to Psalm 139:5: “You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head” (NLT). Reciting this aloud, whether in prayer or just as a personal reminder, gives me the Holy Confidence that I imagine David felt on that battlefield. What a blessing to be able to muster this certainty every time I feel insecure about the present or future?

While reading one of favorite young authors this week, Rachel Dawson, I was reminded of this idea of Holy Confidence as she chose this exact subheading when sharing the story of how God provided her the means to attend Union University through the Scholars of Excellence experience. In the same manner that He uses Psalm 139 in my life, God reminded Rachel of passages like Hebrews 10:35 and Deuteronomy 14:29 to speak into her struggles that weekend to be genuine and authentic. “Through these verses, I was equipped to walk forward with a Holy Confidence, not in myself but in the Lord who sustains me…Our confidence cannot be drawn from within ourselves and our own ability to accomplish great things. It cannot come from our parents, siblings, friends, or significant others, and it definitely cannot be based on the number of likes and followers we attain on a social media platform.” I’m continually amazed by the wisdom from this young adult writer who shares insight significantly beyond her years!

Rachel’s ability to weave the astuteness of Scripture into her own story reminds me of a talented speaker from a 2000 FCA Women in Sport Retreat in Colorado who deftly wove her own tapestry of His Word in and out of her own. I’m mesmerized by this gift when demonstrated because, as mentioned above, I’ve yet to make it past verse four in my own attempts at memorization! Rachel continues to embolden us, “Confidence derived from the temporary things of this world will be just that—temporary. We have been called to embrace a Holy Confidence in the One who accomplishes great things through us. Only in Him can we walk in this Holy Confidence we are charged with.”

Whether it’s David’s story from over 3,000 years ago or Rachel’s story from two years back, we have an opportunity to confidently remember how consistent and faithful the Lord is to connect “past-tense providence” with “present-tense circumstances.” David’s story includes five stones, Rachel’s number was twelve, but regardless the actual number (and it may be different for you and me), the Lord allows these stones (and Scripture) to serve as spiritual reminders to boost us with Holy Confidence to handle whatever obstacles arrive in our path to our God-given purpose in this life.

Perhaps you have another outlet that enhances your Holy Confidence—would you please consider sharing in the comments below? It may just be the unique approach someone else needs!

References:

Batterson, M. (2021). Do it for a day: How to make or break any habit in 30 days. Multnomah.

Dawson, R. (2020). These twelve stones. Rachel Dawson.

Johnston, A. (2022). Broken Not Dead Stories, Season 3, Episode 6: Brice Bishop. A Slightly Gigantic Media Production. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/AnrBJS0JXqo