Robert Griffith | 3 December 2022

Robert Griffith
3 December 2022

I love reading The Psalms. Many of them fill my mind with ideas and images about who God is and what He does and why.

God is the One enthroned in heaven, Most High, maker of all, majestic, righteous ruler & judge, our Rock, our refuge, our strength, the One who sees, and these are only the beginning.

As for His actions, in the first few chapters alone, God surrounds the righteous with His favour like a shield. He watches over them and leads them. He blesses all who take refuge in Him. He listens to their prayers and answers them. He delivers, gives relief, disciplines, and judges evil. He fills hearts with joy and peace and brings prosperity.

God is King of kings, who made the world and owns the world and rules the world and sustains it.

So then, what does all this mean about us?

God chooses to be involved in the details of our lives.

He is worthy of our confidence and trust.

David, who wrote many of the Psalms, had such deep and abiding confidence in God. I’m convicted by it, in the area of belief. Don’t get me wrong – I don’t usually struggle with doubting God. But sometimes I struggle with doubting me. Deep down, that’s an issue of confidence in God – that He is who He says He is, that He does what He says He’ll do, and especially, that He does it for me.

Mark 9:24 “I do believe; Lord, help me overcome my unbelief!”

I don’t think we need more confidence in ourselves. Because at some point in life, even the most self-confident among us will experience their confidence shaken. We are human, and in this state, we are dependent on God, whether we admit that or not. It doesn’t matter how much confidence you were born with or how much you developed through the circumstances of your life.

What matters is that we hope and trust in God.

Doing a quick word study using confidence, I found the Greek word parresia, and the Hebrew word, mibtach.

Parresia allows us to look ahead with confidence – because we know Who is in control. With parresia, we have freedom and boldness, but only because of a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Mibtach carries the idea of security, trust, hope, and certainty. Mibtah assumes our confidence is based on the object of our confidence. It’s the word King David used when he prayed: