Confident Living: Trust and Surrender
Jul 21, 2026
There are seasons in life when confidence feels easy. We know what we're doing, we feel capable, and we're willing to take the next step.
Then there are seasons when confidence seems to disappear. We begin questioning ourselves, second-guessing every decision, and wondering if we're really equipped for what's in front of us.
Somewhere along the way, many of us learned that confidence was something to be careful with. We were taught not to become prideful, not to get a big head, not to think too highly of ourselves. While humility is a beautiful quality, I wonder how many of us accidentally confused humility with shrinking ourselves.
What if confidence isn't about believing you're better than someone else? What if it's simply about trusting who you were created to be?
This week on the Be a Blaze Podcast, we're redefining confidence and exploring how real confidence isn't rooted in ego or control. It's rooted in trust. Trust in yourself, trust in God, and trust that surrendering the outcome often leads to something even better than you imagined.
🎧 Listen to podcast Episode 53: Confident Living: Power, Purpose, Surrender
Confidence Begins With Trust
When we hear the word confidence, many of us immediately think about performance. We picture someone who is outspoken, fearless, or naturally gifted. But confidence isn't a personality trait. It's something much deeper.
Confidence begins with trust.
It is trusting that you have the ability to learn, to grow, and to navigate whatever life places in front of you. It doesn't mean you know everything or that you'll never make mistakes. It means you believe you can meet the moment with courage, curiosity, and a willingness to keep moving forward.
The more you begin trusting yourself, the more your nervous system learns that you are safe. You stop reacting from fear and begin responding from a place of peace.
That kind of confidence doesn't happen overnight. It grows every time you keep a promise to yourself, every time you face something difficult instead of avoiding it, and every time you choose truth over fear.
When Confidence Was Misunderstood
Many of us inherited beliefs about confidence that were never actually true.
Maybe you were told not to be too confident because people might think you're arrogant. Maybe you learned to minimize your accomplishments so no one would accuse you of having too much pride. Over time, those messages can become so familiar that we stop recognizing them as someone else's voice.
Healthy confidence doesn't ignore weakness. It acknowledges it without allowing it to define you.
There are things I'm confident I can do well, and there are things I know are outside my expertise. Both can exist at the same time. Confidence isn't pretending to be everything. It's honestly recognizing who you are, where you're growing, and where you still have more to learn.
That isn't arrogance.
That's wisdom.
Stop Giving Old Voices So Much Influence
One of the greatest obstacles to confidence isn't a lack of ability. It's the collection of old voices we've carried with us for years.
Sometimes it's a critical parent.
Sometimes it's a teacher, a boss, or a relationship that slowly chipped away at our belief in ourselves.
Sometimes it's our own inner critic repeating those same messages over and over again.
The beautiful thing about healing is that we get to decide which voices deserve influence today.
When you begin connecting with your true identity instead of your old wounds, something starts to shift. You stop asking everyone else for permission. You become more interested in discernment than approval. You become curious instead of condemning yourself every time you don't get something exactly right.
That shift changes the way you move through every area of your life.
Celebrate Your Growth
I think many of us are much better at criticizing ourselves than celebrating ourselves.
We accomplish something we've worked incredibly hard for, and before we know it we're already focused on the next thing. We dismiss our progress by saying it wasn't that difficult or that anyone could have done it.
But celebration is not the same thing as pride.
Taking time to acknowledge your growth is an act of gratitude. It reminds you where you've been, what you've overcome, and how faithful God has been along the way.
Every difficult conversation you've had.
Every healthy boundary you've set.
Every courageous decision you've made.
Every step you've taken toward healing.
Those moments matter.
When you recognize them, your confidence begins to grow because you're building evidence that you really can handle hard things.
Confidence Gives You the Freedom to Surrender
One of my favorite parts of this conversation is recognizing that confidence and surrender are not opposites. They actually belong together.
We often think confidence means controlling every detail and making sure life unfolds exactly as we've planned. But some of the greatest gifts in my own life have come through outcomes I never could have predicted.
We are meant to dream. We're meant to have desires, goals, and intentions. We're meant to pursue them wholeheartedly.
But we're also invited to hold those dreams with open hands.
Surrender isn't giving up. It's trusting that God's imagination is far greater than our own. It's believing that even when life unfolds differently than we expected, something beautiful can still emerge.
That kind of surrender requires incredible confidence because it allows us to move forward without demanding certainty.
Protect the Fire Within You
There will always be people who misunderstand your confidence. Some may interpret healthy boundaries as arrogance. Others may feel uncomfortable when you stop making yourself smaller to protect their insecurities.
You don't have to spend your life convincing everyone that you're enough. You simply need to remember that you already are.
The fire inside you was never meant to be hidden. It was meant to illuminate your life and the lives of the people around you.
So this week, I want to leave you with a question.
What would change if you trusted yourself a little more?
Not because you have all the answers. Not because you know exactly how everything will unfold.
But because you trust the One who created you, the strength He's placed within you, and the beautiful possibilities that unfold when you take the next step with confidence and surrender.