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Building Others Confidence in You
Joshua 1:5
"There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee."
There is no doubt that Joshua needed a confidence booster that God would use him. Moses was a great man of God, and Joshua was the one chosen to fill his position. That was a very big position to fill, but Joshua still had the same God of Moses. Because Joshua had a big position that he had just filled, he needed his confidence built that God would use him. Twice God said, "Be strong and of a good courage:..." God said this because Joshua needed confidence that God would use him. The verse above shows three things that are needed to build someone's confidence in you.
First, get involved with what they are doing. God told Joshua, "...so I will be with thee:..." The word "with" means, "to be beside." In other words, if you were to paraphrase what God said to Joshua you would say, "So, I will be beside thee." What a great confidence booster! Knowing that God would be right beside him had to help build his confidence.
If you need to build someone's confidence in you, then you need to prove to them that you will be right beside them in all that they do. The greatest way a parent can build their child's confidence in them is to be there for them when they need you. Many children lack confidence in their parents because their parents are too busy to be there for them when they need them. Likewise, a spouse needs to be with their spouse in times of need. You will build your spouse's confidence in you when you are right beside them as they go through tough times. Furthermore, if you need to build someone's confidence in you in the ministry, then you need to be sure that you will be with them when they go through tough times in their life. If they are in the hospital, then visit them. If they are in suffering the death of a loved one, then be there for them. You will never build someone's confidence in you if you are absent in their time of need.
Second, being dependable will build someone's confidence in you. God told Joshua, "I will not fail thee,..." In other words, God was telling Joshua that he could always count on Him doing what He said He would do. If you want to build someone's confidence in you, then follow through with everything that you told them you will do. Dependability is a great confidence booster. If a person learns that they can depend on you more than they can anyone else, then they will certainly have great confidence in you.
Last, don't forsake them. God told Joshua, "...I will not...forsake thee." It didn't matter what Joshua was going through, God promised him that He would always be there. If you want to build someone's confidence in you, then be there for them in the good and bad times. When they disappoint you, be there for them. When everyone else leaves them, be there for them. When they fall into sin, be there for them. When everyone else is gone, then you be the one who is still standing by their side.
Is someone in your life with whom you need to build their confidence in you? The three things that God does to build our confidence in Him will also build other's confidence in you. However, once you have built someone's confidence in you, be careful that you don't break that confidence. You worked hard to get it, so work just as hard to keep it.