An Inexhaustible Provision of Confidence in God

I love catchy titles and powerful sentences. While reading a historical fiction novel called, The Golden Thread, I came upon a scene where Ignatius of Loyola was attempting to board a ship that would help him continue his journey towards the Holy Land. But there was a problem, Ignatius had no money; indeed, he had nothing to even barter with. When asked what he would contribute to be able to board the ship with all the other passengers, he replied, "An inexhaustible provision of confidence in God."

"An inexhaustible provision of confidence in God."

What a response. What a statement. What a reality. Those who have read of St. Ignatius know that, for him, this was not simply wordsmithing. This comment, though from a historical fiction account, represents the manner of life he had. He went about with more confidence in God than anything else.

I was thinking about the above statement while preparing for a sermon on 1 Samuel 17, the David vs. Goliath story. It is a story about many things, and many a good preacher have made series out of it. I, like a fool, endeavored to preach it in one sitting, inflicting my congregation with the sound of my voice for an extra 10 minutes or so. But let me get back to the point. The aspect of this story that stuck out to me this time was the presence of confidence. One might say that it is a story about confidence.

The Israelite army was brimming with confidence in preceding passages, and I'm sure they entered into this passage with similar levels of confidence. After all, they had King Saul on their side; and he, as we discovered in 1 Samuel 9:2, Saul was a very handsome man who stood head and shoulders above everyone else. What's more, they had soldier's of Eliab's caliber (see chapter 16), and Eliab was so impressive looking that Samuel almost anointed him King after seeing him. All of this paints a picture of what their confidence was in-the flesh, or what could be seen. As long as they had the tallest, strongest, fastest guy on their team, they were walking tall and talking trash. This is presumably how they entered the battle.

Then Goliath showed up.The problem with confidence in the flesh is that it disintegrates as soon as someone shows up, with more "flesh," as it were. One who's confidence is in their appearance, will be left withering when a more beautiful person comes along. The one who's confidence is in their bankroll, will be reduced to nothing when they find themselves in the company of a wealthier person. And when ones confidence rests in the height and strength of your king, they will be left paralyzed when one who is taller, stronger, and more intimidating comes along. Thus we read, "For forty days the Philistine (Goliath) came forward and took his stand, morning and evening." Forty days of taunting humiliation, and not one soldier, nor even their king, steps forward. Confidence? Gone.David, on the other hand, has confidence, but it wasn't in the flesh. His confidence was rooted in God. Thus he hears this giant of a man talking the same trash, and instead of being paralyzed like the rest of the soldiers, he starts prepping for a fight.

David, mind you, had no business on the field with Goliath, physically speaking. But David didn't operate on the basis of physicality only. As he recounts to Saul, a bear came, a lion came, both tried to steal his sheep. He chased them down and slew them. But here is where his differing perspective appears. It was he who chased them down, and it was he who slew them, but, he says, it was the Lord that delivered them into his hands.

Another quote by St. Ignatius says, "Act as if everything depended upon you, but trust as if everything depended upon God." This is what David does. He acts, but his confidence isn't in his actions, his confidence is in God. In other words, he doesn't say to Goliath, "You don't know my work, but you'll soon find out, bro!" But he says,

"This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hand. (Emphasis mine)"

He entered the battle because of his love for God, and God's glory, and reason for believing he would win is because he had "an inexhaustible provision of confidence in God." And that was enough. Acting with confidence in God is always enough; indeed, it is always more than enough. With these two things, love for God and confidence in God, the diminutive David slew the hulking Goliath. Love for God, and confidence in God. This is, quite frankly, what should carry every Christian through each day. It is how churches are supposed to go about transforming the world. The method we primarily use is going forward if we have enough resources. That is the failing confidence, it is confidence rooted in the flesh, in what is seen. But the promise of the bible is that the same God who went forward with David, Abraham, Moses, Paul, Peter, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Elijah, Elisha, Joshua, will go forward with us, but only if we act with a confidence that is rooted in him.

So Jesus, before ascending to the right hand of God, says to his students, "I now have all authority in heaven and on earth. So you guys go and make disciples, immerse them in the reality of the Trinity, and teach them to obey everything I have told you." This is his call for them, and us, to act. But then he gives us a reason to have confidence in our actions, "And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

That knowledge should cause us to act with an inexhaustible provision of confidence in God.You can listen to audio sermon here if you like.