"I'm too young"
"I'm too old"
"I don't have enough education"
"Is this really what God wants for me?'
We all have an mp3 track that plays over and over in our heads sometimes telling us that we are not good enough to accomplish our goals and passions in life.
When you are at the starting line and the gun goes off, that is not a time to hesitate.
When you are at the free throw line and your team is down with a few seconds left, that is not a time for uncertainty.
When you 're on the high dive with the judges below and the Chinese divers are leading, that is not the time to be asking yourself "Can I really do this?"
George Barna did a study on confidence and discovered that people with confidence were more likely to be successful, more satisfied with their life, more willing to help others, more satisfied in relationships, less affected by stress and more likely to see God as loving, caring and forgiving.
Everyone wants to be confident but many times we hear that same old mp3 playing telling you that someone is better than you, someone is smarter than you, someone is handling life better than you.
Usually this voice we hear is not our own, but the voice of a critical coach, a perfectionist parent or a negative spouse.
And they all want to tell us why we are inadequate and why we do not measure up.
A friend of mine once counseled a teenage girl who had a problem of cutting herself on the arms. She showed him scar after scar on her arm.
My friend asked her what went through her mind when she did this and she said:
"I hear my father telling me I am worthless."
"I hear myself telling me I'm too fat."
"And I hear everyone laughing at me."
I think we all hear these same voices from time to time or maybe I am the only one who is schizophrenic :) 
In Philippians 4:13, Paul makes a profound statement about true confidence.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
During the next few days, we are going to look at biblical confidence, how to instill this in our children and how we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
