By nature, I am a people pleaser. Usually, this is a good thing. I have a lot of close relationships and get joy from serving others as a result. However, this trait has also often led me to measure my worth based on what others think of me. I used to constantly consider what others would think if I said a certain thing or acted in a certain way. As I mentioned in one of my previous articles, What God Has Taught Me In The Past Year, I also used to think that confidence was all about how you viewed yourself. Although this is partially true, I've learned that confidence is about a lot more than just yourself. Simply telling myself that I am good enough or strong enough isn't actually going to free me from looking to others for approval. We are all only a small part of a bigger picture, and that bigger picture is God's plan for us. Therefore, we need God's help in this, just like in everything else. Hebrews 10:35 says:

"So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!"

This verse reminds us that in order to be confident in ourselves, we must first be confident in the Lord and His power. We have to trust that He's not going to let us fail and fall flat on our faces. We also have to trust that even if others shame us for being bold or for standing up for what we believe in, we will come out on the other side even stronger and bolder. After all, as hard as it is to accept, the only opinion that truly matters is God's. Putting trust in the Lord like this takes the feeling of "safety in numbers" to a whole new level. As long as you have accepted Him into your heart, He is with you every second to tackle whatever you come up against.

When I first read this verse about two years ago it really changed the way I lived. Although I didn't instantly become 100 percent confident in myself, and it's still an ongoing process, I began to live my life a lot more freely. God truly did reward me for putting my trust in Him. I discovered the freedom of being able to go against the crowd without worrying that others would judge me. I found others admiring me for being open and proud about my beliefs, which was something I always admired in other people. Overall, I found myself starting to become the person I had always wanted to be.

Like I said, I am still on this journey to becoming fully confident in God and in myself. I still worry about what others think of me, and I let myself doubt that God will always be there to prevent me from failing. However, I no longer let these doubts control me, and I am no longer trying to do this on my own.