The Role of Confidence in Expressing Your Calling

Understanding the Importance of Confidence

Confidence makes all the difference when you're pursuing God's plan for your life. It stems from trust in yourself—a belief that God made you good enough, and that in Him, you have everything you need to build what He’s placed in your heart. This frees you to pursue the good works He’s prepared for you in a healthier and more wholehearted way.

An Unexpected Lesson

A few years ago, I attended a church that met in a school hall with rented chairs. Most people sat in their chairs without a second thought—until we went through a strange period where chairs started collapsing during the service. After the third person hit the floor in about as many weeks, the wise among us suddenly became chair inspectors. What we once trusted without question became suspect.

Confidence is a lot like faith—its belief built on experience. The chair incident got me thinking: we place our weight on chairs because we’re confident they’ll hold us. We trust them to do what they were made to do. Unless you were there for those unfortunate services, you’d sit without hesitation. But for those who witnessed the chair catastrophes, that trust was broken. At its core, confidence is trust that something (or someone) is capable of doing what you expect it to do. That’s how confidence is formed—and how it’s lost.

Confidence is trust that something (or someone) is capable of doing what you expect it to do.

The Role of Confidence in Leadership

When pioneering something new—be it a fresh initiative, a public speaking opportunity, or building high-stakes relationships—confidence in yourself is crucial. A strong sense of self-trust gives you more internal resources to connect authentically with others. You're not distracted by fear, self-doubt, or anxiety; you're free to apply yourself fully to the task at hand.

When you're not confident, it’s like being unsure if the chair will hold you. You second-guess. You hesitate. You’re preoccupied with managing fear instead of engaging with your environment. This can manifest as self-doubt, anxiety, procrastination, or just a persistent sense of unease. It also limits your performance—because you're holding back, and you're preoccupied with whether you have what it takes to perform, instead of applying yourself.

A lack of confidence often leads to fear management strategies—like over-controlling your environment, avoiding challenges, or sabotaging opportunities. Whether it’s catastrophizing or withdrawing to protect yourself from rejection or failure, your system focuses on the fear and prioritises self-protection. Operating from low confidence shifts your goals: it’s no longer about wholeheartedly applying yourself, but about staying safe—even as you try to achieve the outcomes you desire. That’s a tough place to lead from.

Lack of confidence turns leadership into fear management.

The Making of a Great Leader

Great leaders inspire and motivate others. That’s hard to do when you’re stuck in survival mode—marked by insecurity, not vision. Leadership requires the freedom to connect, to risk, and to model the future you want others to step into. And here’s the truth: people don’t follow your words; they follow your example. You reproduce who you are, not just what you say. So, if you want to lead others into a vision that contains confidence, purpose, and boldness, you need to live it first. This starts with confidence.

People act out what they truly believe. If you want to know what you actually believe about yourself, look at your patterns over time. Confidence is a form of self-belief—and when it’s absent, your actions will default to fear-based protection. That could be avoiding opportunities, holding back your voice, or playing small.

Transforming Your Self-Concept

Part of being transformed by the renewing of our minds is applying the gospel to our self-concept. That means replacing the lies we’ve believed with truth—truth from Scripture and truth from what God has personally spoken to us. It also means taking action that aligns with who God says we are. Confidence grows when we make choices aligned with our identity in Christ—one that includes the truth that He made us good enough.

Solid Self-Confidence Sets You Up to Live and Lead Well

When you live and act from a place of confidence, you're free to pursue and express God's plan wholeheartedly. You're no longer consumed with self-protection. Your brain has more space for creativity and problem-solving. Because your self-belief has been rewired to align with God’s truth, you are more able to step into the good works He prepared for you with clarity, boldness, and faith.

In conclusion, confidence helps you show up better, connect more deeply, and lead more powerfully. It’s essential for anyone looking to pioneer new ideas and inspire those around them.

If you want to delve deeper into this topic, you can explore our resources on building self-trust and confidence.