“Security in the Confidence of Christ: Knowing Victory Amid the Feeling of Defeat”

When our efforts collapse beneath the weight of limitation, unforsaken security does not dwell within the unsubstantial constructs of self.  

Our being continually works in opposition to the God-given purpose for which we were created. Any security rooted in self never reaches its fullness or effectiveness in fulfilling that purpose. This is because security grounded in oneself produces only fragile confidence that will eventually produce the feeling of defeat.

The feeling of defeat is the act of being unraveled, overcome, or quietly undone by forces that exhaust one’s effort, a continuation of emotional recognition of limitation, loss, or surrender. 

When security is placed in the self, it creates a false sense of stability, and the result is that defeat is not merely encountered; it becomes instructive, exposing the insufficiency of the self. 

 “ Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them, living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God”(Romans 8:5-7).

Philippians 2:7 reminds believers that Christ willingly poured Himself out, not by abandoning or diminishing His divine nature, but by veiling the outward expression of His divine equality and rightful honor. He entered fully into human existence and assumed true humanity without distorting justice, remaining wholly God and wholly man until the resurrection.

Christ’s purpose was that divinity would descend, serve, and dwell among humanity, so that the Holy Spirit, the presence of God, could remain on earth, guiding us into God’s purpose through the confidence found in Christ’s salvation (Forgiveness and redemption, Eternal life and reconciliation, spiritual brokenness that sin brings, and ongoing transformation).

Paul writes in Philippians 1:25 that this confidence is not rooted in self-preservation, but in the confidence of Christ. For it is not human strength in self, but God who is effectively at work strengthening one’s ability to fulfill His purpose and do it with courage. “Security in the Confidence of Christ”.

Resource

Philippians 1:25 & Philippians 2 AMP

Romans 8:5-7 MSG