Creating Unshakeable Confidence

Encouraging confidence in teens can feel like whack-a-mole. The need for assurance pops up in all areas: “Nothing looks good on me!” “There’s no way I can understand biology!” “I’ll never make the team!” “No one will like me with all these zits on my face!”

We want them to be confident because we don’t want them living in fear. But we also don’t want them arrogant or unrealistic in their view of themselves. So, do we teach “fake it till you make it” or pump them full of half-truths?

How about they learn to judge themselves on the right scale: God’s? Then they can trust him in all the places they truly don’t measure up. Maybe they aren’t strong enough to get through this deployment, or smart enough to conquer biology, but that’s where God steps in.

But Christ has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is worthless. Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ.

Philippians 3:7-8 (CEV)

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul points out all the reasons he was on top of the scale in his peers’ eyes. But on Jesus’s scale, these successes meant nothing. And as Paul aligned himself more with Christ, he came to see his accomplishments as garbage. He realized that he had no reason to boast. He did not want to put his confidence in his own abilities. The scale he judged himself on now was Jesus’s.

So, when you look your girl in the eye, tell her she’s beautiful even with the zit—and tell her her beauty has nothing to do with the spot on her face or what the world thinks. Her worth comes from being a loved child of God.

Our looks, our abilities, our confidence in ourselves can all be shaken. We must anchor ourselves to God’s foundation. Our security in him creates the only unshakeable confidence.

Pray

Lord, please help us all to put our confidence not in ourselves, but in you. Help us to value what you value. May my kids gain unshakeable confidence so they can live joyfully. Amen.

Time to Talk

Conversation starter for kids: Provides you with questions and prompts to facilitate a time of applicable discussion with children to lead them towards knowing God and His Word more deeply.

Question(s): What do people say you should be like? What does God say?

Keep It Going

Related passages: These additional verses will help parents expand Scriptural knowledge and place on the armor of God’s Word to tackle each day. Swipe to read the passages today.

Psalm 44:6–8

2 Corinthians 12:9–10