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Do you lack confidence in yourself? Do you doubt your ability to do the things you want to do, or feel that you should do, or that you believe God wants you to do?

The Bible says that we can do all things through Him who gives us strength. The "Him," is, of course, the Lord. But the "we" is you and me. If God wants us to do something or achieve something or accomplish something, the Bible says He will give us the ability to do or achieve or accomplish it. All we have to do is identify it as something He wants and rely on Him to show us how to do it.

For 16 years I practiced law in Northern Virginia. When I needed to take a case, because of financial pressure, in an area of law I was less familiar with, I would become anxious.

For most of those 16 years, I had no personal relationship with God. I went to church on Sunday and I considered myself a Christian, but I only called on God in a crisis. Then I would pray and hope that God would extricate me from that particular dilemma. But I did not know that God had a plan for my life and that He would work through me to carry out that plan.

Then I became a Christian. I discovered that "greater is He who is in me than He who is in the world." I began to discover how to have confidence in myself.

Going With God

I began to focus on and internalize God's promise that I could do all things through Him who gives me strength. And I began to believe that I could do anything that God wanted me to do. I began to understand that it is not my ability that matters. God can work through me to accomplish whatever He has called me to do. I just needed to become a little more disciplined.

In my law practice, I had never tried to specialize. When I came along, most lawyers were generalists. But before I retired, survival meant specialization.

I had no real idea how to specialize, but soon after my commitment to Christ, I realized God wanted me to specialize. I became certain that He could and would enable me to do this.

First, I needed to find out how He wanted me to develop a specialty. And so I began. I carved out one hour each morning, after my quiet time, to reflect on what my area of specialization would be. As this became clear, I slowly moved into using that hour to read, research and develop my knowledge within that area. Before too long, I had succeeded in becoming a specialist.

To build your confidence in yourself, you must set a goal that is consistent with God's plan for your life. If God wants you to do it, then of course you can.

Improving Self-Discipline

Next, you must recognize the role that self-discipline plays in the process. Inadequate self-discipline will undermine confidence in self. Knowing God's will but failing to take the steps to do it--for lack of discipline--is disobedience. And if you are being consciously disobedient to God in many areas, your view of yourself is going to be undermined. You are going to be less confident of God's willingness and desire to accomplish things through you.

To improve your self-discipline, begin with an area that will give you a great sense of accomplishment--maybe time management. Then ask God for help every day. Tell your family and friends how excited you are about it. Give yourself a deadline. And be realistic.

Be accountable to someone. Report your success or failure daily or weekly or periodically. If you fail, analyze why. Try it again with a more realistic approach. Remember, failure is not trying. Success is continuing to try. The difference between the two is often just being realistic. Start small and work your way up. You have the rest of your life to get there.

Forming a Plan

Self-confidence builds on success. The more you accomplish, the more confidence you have to attempt more difficult tasks. You begin with God's will and self-discipline. However, to reach your goal, you need a plan.

First, specify what you are going to accomplish. Your goal should be very clear and very measurable, and you need a deadline.

Once you have a specific goal and a time frame, you can begin to plan in earnest. What steps must you take? How many smaller goals do you need to identify? How many short-range deadlines do you need to establish?

Trying It Out

Maybe you lack confidence in your ability to provide for your family. Let us assume you do not have a job or the one you have does not pay enough. How do you establish your plan?

First, carve out time to think it through. Maybe get away for a weekend to a friend's cabin or a motel room. Next, establish a long-range plan. What job do you want five years from now? Be realistic, but do not worry about all the details.

Now, decide where you should be a year from now. How much income will you need to support your family? Where should you be living? How many hours a week should you be working? Be sure your decisions are consistent with your five-year plan, or change the five-year plan, as necessary.

If you do not have a job, the next step is to get one. Based on your savings and assets, decide how quickly you must have money coming in and set a deadline. If you have 30 days, plan to send your application or resume to between 25 and 100 employers within one week. Plan to call and request interviews within two weeks. And plan to go to work at the local grocery store in 30 days if you have not landed your job.

If you already have a job but it pays too little, then you can seek a promotion or change companies. Your time frame and approach may be a little different, but your objective is the same: to establish a realistic plan for finding a higher-paying job by a certain date.

Your initial job or job change may not look a whole lot like your one-year or five-year plan. If not, that is okay. You just need to know you made the best decision you could in the time you had. You still may not have enough income, but you have gotten what you could get in the time available. Now, compare your situation to the one-year plan. What needs to be done this month to take you closer to the one-year objective? You may need to get a second job. You may need to reduce expenses. You may need to sell assets.

As you are faithful to the process, to the plan God reveals to you, you will succeed. And as you succeed by identifying and following God's plan, your self-confidence will increase. And your success and self-confidence will translate into other areas.
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NOTE:  All articles © copyright 1997-2007 by Christian Stewardship Ministries. Any portion of the Principles in Practice articles may be downloaded, quoted or reproduced without further permission, provided excerpts are in context, by adding the following credit line: "Reprinted from Christian Stewardship Ministries' Principles in Practice, Fairfax, Virginia," and furnishing a copy to: CSM, 10523 Main Street, Fairfax, Virginia 22030 Phone: (703) 591-5000.