Mark Carey writes:
Don’t Throw Away Your Confidence
Hebrews 10:33–11:2
“Confidence is the feeling you have before you fall flat on your face!” quipped Dennis Norden. Arsène Wenger once said, “Confidence goes quickly but returns slowly.” We’ve all felt it - mountaintop moments at a conference or retreat, only to crash into reality the next week.
The Bible warns us that not all confidence is worth keeping. Some confidence—like the self-assurance of the seven sons of Sceva in Acts 19 - is hollow. Rowan Williams put it sharply: “The opposite of faith is not doubt, but the confidence that we can fill up the absence of God… by setting ourselves up as the providers of final answers.”
The writer of Hebrews calls us to hold fast to a different kind of confidence - a Spirit-born trust in God that doesn’t fade when things get hard.
1. Confidence is Not Arrogance - It’s Faith Anchored in Christ
“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded” (Hebrews 10:35).
This isn’t hype, ego, or sheer willpower. It’s knowing who God is, what He’s promised, and who we are in Him. For us in CCBN, this confidence is vital - not just for our own sake, but for the communities we serve. What God starts, He finishes - we can be confident of this.
2. Perseverance Is the Path to the Promise
“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised” (Hebrews 10:36).
Perseverance is gritty, Spirit-empowered obedience in the face of setbacks and delay. Many in our Network are bearing fruit today because they kept going when it seemed pointless. We plant and water - but God gives the growth in His timing.
3. We Belong to the Ones Who Believe
“But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved” (Hebrews 10:39).
We’re part of a spiritual lineage of ordinary people with extraordinary faith (Hebrews 11). They didn’t let disappointment dictate their destiny - and neither will we. We dig wells where others see dry ground. We speak hope where the world offers despair.
Our power isn’t natural - it’s supernatural. The Spirit who indwells us gives us dunamis (power) and exousia (authority) to witness boldly.
Today, invite the Holy Spirit to renew your confidence - not the fragile kind that fades in difficulty, but the unshakable kind that comes from heaven.
Reverend Canon Mark Carey – CCBN Network