'Confidence' in the Bible

Now Gaal the son of Ebed came with his relatives, and moved into Shechem; and the leaders of Shechem trusted him.

Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, “What is [the reason for] this confidence that you have?

For You, O my God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build for him a house (descendants); therefore Your servant has found courage to pray before You.

“Is not your fear of God your confidence,And [is not] the integrity and uprightness of your ways your hope?

‘God puts no trust or confidence, even in His [heavenly] servants,And He charges His angels with error.

“Turn away [from your suspicion], let there be no injustice;Turn away, my righteousness and vindication is still in it.

For his confidence is fragile and breaks,And his trust is [like] a spider’s web.

“I smiled at them when they did not believe,And they did not diminish the light of my face.

“If I have put my trust and confidence in gold,Or have declared fine gold my hope and assurance,

When I am afraid,I will put my trust and faith in You.

Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious and merciful to me,For my soul finds shelter and safety in You,And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge and be confidently secureUntil destruction passes by.

Trust [confidently] in Him at all times, O people;Pour out your heart before Him.God is a refuge for us. Selah.

By awesome and wondrous things You answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation,You who are the trust and hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest sea;

For You are my hope;O Lord God, You are my trust and the source of my confidence from my youth.

O God, my heart is steadfast [with confident faith];I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my soul.

It is better to take refuge in the LordThan to trust in man.

It is better to take refuge in the LordThan to trust in princes.

I know [with confidence] that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted,And [will secure] justice for the poor.

For the Lord will be your confidence, firm and strong,And will keep your foot from being caught [in a trap].

In the [reverent] fear of the Lord there is strong confidence,And His children will [always] have a place of refuge.

The wicked is overthrown through his wrongdoing,But the righteous has hope and confidence and a refuge [with God] even in death.

A wicked man puts on a bold face,But as for the upright, he considers, directs, and establishes his way [with the confidence of integrity].

So that your trust and reliance and confidence may be in the Lord,I have taught these things to you today, even to you.

Like a broken tooth or an unsteady footIs confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble.

The fear of man brings a snare,But whoever trusts in and puts his confidence in the Lord will be exalted and safe.

For the bed is too short to stretch out on,And the blanket is too narrow to wrap around oneself [and likewise all their preparations are inadequate].

For the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel has said this,“In returning [to Me] and rest you shall be saved,In quietness and confident trust is your strength.”But you were not willing,

Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria says, “What is [the reason for] this confidence that you have?

“Blessed [with spiritual security] is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the LordAnd whose hope and confident expectation is the Lord.

And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh [his worthless, disgusting god], as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their [misplaced] confidence.

They shall live in it securely; and they will build houses, plant vineyards and live securely when I execute judgment on all those around them who despise them. Then they will know [with clarity and confidence] that I am the Lord their God.”’”

And Egypt will never again have the confidence of the house of Israel; their wickedness will be remembered whenever Israel looks toward them [for help]. Then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord God.”’”

“But lately My people have stood up as an enemy [and have made Me their antagonist].You strip the ornaments off the garmentOf those unsuspecting passers-by,Like those returned from war.

Do not trust in a neighbor [because of the moral corruption in the land];Do not have confidence in a friend.Guard the doors of your mouthFrom her who lies in your bosom.

Ashkelon will see it and fear;Gaza will writhe in pain,And Ekron, for her hope and expectation, has been ruined.The king will perish from Gaza,And Ashkelon will not be inhabited.

When Jesus saw their [active] faith [springing from confidence in Him], He said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Then He said to her, “Daughter, your faith [your personal trust and confidence in Me] has restored you to health; go in peace and be [permanently] healed from your suffering.”

The disciples were amazed and bewildered by His words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is [for those who place their hope and confidence in riches] to enter the kingdom of God!

When Jesus saw their [active] faith [springing from confidence in Him], He said, “Man, your sins are forgiven.”

And He said to them, “Where is your faith [your confidence in Me]?” They were afraid and astonished, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the sea, and they obey Him?”

He said to her, “Daughter, your faith [your personal trust and confidence in Me] has made you well. Go in peace (untroubled, undisturbed well-being).”

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith [our ability to confidently trust in God and in His power].”

And the Lord said, “If you have [confident, abiding] faith in God [even as small] as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree [which has very strong roots], ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea’; and [if the request was in agreement with the will of God] it would have obeyed you.

Jesus said to him, “Get up and go [on your way]. Your faith [your personal trust in Me and your confidence in God’s power] has restored you to health.”

Jesus said to him, “Regain your sight; your [personal trust and confident] faith [in Me] has made you well.”

I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.]

‘Look, you mockers, and marvel, and perish and vanish away;For I am doing a work in your days,A work which you will never believe, even if someone describes it to you [telling you about it in detail].’”

After a long debate, Peter got up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the message of the gospel and believe.

But I confess this to you, that according to the Way, which they call a [divisive and heretical] sect, I do worship and serve the God of our fathers, [confidently] believing everything that is in accordance with the Law [of Moses] and that is written in the Prophets;

For [your majesty] the king understands these things, and [therefore] I am also speaking to him with confidence and boldness, since I am convinced that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a corner [hidden from view, in secret].

So keep up your courage, men, for I believe God and have complete confidence in Him that it will turn out exactly as I have been told;

Such is the confidence and steadfast reliance and absolute trust that we have through Christ toward God.

Great is my confidence in you; great is my pride and boasting on your behalf. I am filled [to the brim] with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in spite of all our trouble.

I rejoice that in everything I have [perfect] confidence in you.

We have sent with them our brother, whom we have often tested and found to be diligent in many things, but who is now even more diligent [than ever] because of his great confidence in you.

I have confidence in you in the Lord that you will adopt no other view [contrary to mine on the matter]; but the one who is disturbing you, whoever he is, will have to bear the penalty.

so that we who were the first to hope in Christ [who first put our confidence in Him as our Lord and Savior] would exist to the praise of His glory.

in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him [that is, our faith gives us sufficient courage to freely and openly approach God through Christ].

It is right for me to feel this way about you, because [you have me in your heart as] I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the good news [regarding salvation], all of you share in [His matchless] grace with me.

Because of my chains [seeing that I am doing well and that God is accomplishing great things], most of the brothers have renewed confidence in the Lord, and have far more courage to speak the word of God [concerning salvation] without fear [of the consequences, seeing that God can work His good in all circumstances].

for we [who are born-again have been reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, set apart for His purpose and] are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory and take pride and exult in Christ Jesus and place no confidence [in what we have or who we are] in the flesh—

for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus [how you lean on Him with absolute confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness], and of the [unselfish] love which you have for all the saints (God’s people);

For even though I am absent [from you] in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, delighted to see your good discipline [as you stand shoulder to shoulder and form a solid front] and to see the stability of your faith in Christ [your steadfast reliance on Him and your unwavering confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness].

For the word of the Lord has resounded from you and has echoed [like thunder], not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place [the news of] your [great] faith in God has spread, so that we never need to say anything about it.

for this reason, brothers and sisters, during all our distress and suffering we have been comforted and greatly encouraged about you because of your faith [your unwavering trust in God—placing yourselves completely in His loving hands];

With this in view, we constantly pray for you, that our God will count you worthy of your calling [to faith] and with [His] power fulfill every desire for goodness, and complete [your] every work of faith,

We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do the things [which] we command.

nor to pay attention to legends (fables, myths) and endless genealogies, which give rise to useless speculation and meaningless arguments rather than advancing God’s program of instruction which is grounded in faith [and requires surrendering the entire self to God in absolute trust and confidence].

keeping your faith [leaning completely on God with absolute trust and confidence in His guidance] and having a good conscience; for some [people] have rejected [their moral compass] and have made a shipwreck of their faith.

For those who have served well as deacons gain a high standing [having a good reputation among the congregation], and great confidence in the faith which is [founded on and centered] in Christ Jesus.

I remember your sincere and unqualified faith [the surrendering of your entire self to God in Christ with confident trust in His power, wisdom and goodness, a faith] which first lived in [the heart of] your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am confident that it is in you as well.

This is a faithful and trustworthy saying:If we died with Him, we will also live with Him;

and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings (Hebrew Scriptures) which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus [surrendering your entire self to Him and having absolute confidence in His wisdom, power and goodness].

but Christ is faithful as a Son over His [Father’s] house. And we are His house if we hold fast our confidence and sense of triumph in our hope [in Christ].

For we [believers] have become partakers of Christ [sharing in all that the Messiah has for us], if only we hold firm our newborn confidence [which originally led us to Him] until the end,

For indeed we have had the good news [of salvation] preached to us, just as the Israelites also [when the good news of the promised land came to them]; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because it was not united with faith [in God] by those who heard.

so that you will not be [spiritually] sluggish, but [will instead be] imitators of those who through faith [lean on God with absolute trust and confidence in Him and in His power] and by patient endurance [even when suffering] are [now] inheriting the promises.

Therefore, believers, since we have confidence and full freedom to enter the Holy Place [the place where God dwells] by [means of] the blood of Jesus,

let us approach [God] with a true and sincere heart in unqualified assurance of faith, having had our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Do not, therefore, fling away your [fearless] confidence, for it has a glorious and great reward.

By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood [on the doorposts], so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch them (the firstborn of Israel).

Remember your leaders [for it was they] who brought you the word of God; and consider the result of their conduct [the outcome of their godly lives], and imitate their faith [their conviction that God exists and is the Creator and Ruler of all things, the Provider of eternal salvation through Christ, and imitate their reliance on God with absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness].

For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; but [to the one who has shown mercy] mercy triumphs [victoriously] over judgment.

So, beloved, since you are looking forward to these things, be diligent and make every effort to be found by Him [at His return] spotless and blameless, in peace [that is, inwardly calm with a sense of spiritual well-being and confidence, having lived a life of obedience to Him].

Now, little children (believers, dear ones), remain in Him [with unwavering faith], so that when He appears [at His return], we may have [perfect] confidence and not be ashamed and shrink away from Him at His coming.

Beloved, if our heart does not convict us [of guilt], we have confidence [complete assurance and boldness] before God;

In this [union and fellowship with Him], love is completed and perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him]; because as He is, so are we in this world.

This is the [remarkable degree of] confidence which we [as believers are entitled to] have before Him: that if we ask anything according to His will, [that is, consistent with His plan and purpose] He hears us.

Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent His angel [as a representative] to show His bond-servants the things that must soon take place.