How often does false confidence end in a humbling experience for you? Too many times, for me, confidence becomes my downfall. I put too much weight on what I think I know. Then, things go sideways and I make a fool of myself.

For Christmas, Hubby Guy surprised me with a Dyson cordless vacuum. I felt like I won the lottery. After the unboxing, I cruised around the house extracting debris from every surface I laid my eyes on. I fantasized about having a holster for it. Visions of being some sort of domestic Quick Draw McGraw floated around in my head.

Well, today I grabbed my new favorite toy and attempted to vacuum my office. After a few seconds, it quit on me. It showed no charge.  Immediately, I began fussing at it and calling it a piece o’ junk. When I calmed down, I began hunting for answers. I unplugged it from its charger before using it. So, battery power could not be the issue. Or could it?

In hardly any time, I realized the power strip the charger was plugged into was not plugged in itself. The end dangled freely behind my bookshelf. Facepalm. I apologized to my toy and restored it in my mind to its rightful place atop the pedestal of my favorite things.

On the surface, everything looked right, but my fancy vacuum was plugged into an ineffective source of power. I placed my confidence in the optics, not the truth.

We need to be careful with what we think we know. We can have absolute confidence in things that will eventually prove ineffective. Sometimes, we place our trust in the optics and not the truth. Then, in a moment of need, we confidently grab for a tool with no actual charge.

As Jesus followers, we can be confident in a source that will not fail us. We do, however, need to plug into that source. No one can do that for us.

For too many years, I trusted in my upbringing, Sunday school attendance, and all the church words I could fit into my head. My optics were on point. I plugged my whole life into a power strip with a dangling end. Then, when everything I thought I knew fell apart, I was left longing.

In my desperate search for something solid to stand on, I found God. This time, though, He had dimension. I discovered His absolute love for me. That stood in direct opposition to the cold, demanding figure from childhood that I could never please.

It took time, study, and energy to learn a new way to live. And, though I am still prone to making a mess of things, I am confident in God as my source.

¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. ¹⁶ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. 

Hebrews 4:15-16 (NIV)