Humble Confidence
Originally shared September 28, 2026
Have you ever longed for greater confidence in an area where you feel called?
Perhaps you are following the Lord into something difficult or new, and every insecurity is coming to the surface.
Perhaps you’re asking whether you really have something valuable to offer.
Maybe you’re thinking that other people are already doing the same thing you’re called to do—but doing it better. Does anyone truly need your particular gifts?
Do any of these sound familiar? If so, you are certainly not alone.
In my experience, these types of doubts often surface just as we are getting ready to follow the Lord into something new that’s outside of our comfort zones. And if we listen to them, they can keep us from moving forward where the Lord is calling us.
(It’s also my experience that God often does lead us outside our comfort zones because those places require us to lean on Him more deeply.)
A couple of years ago, I was in a season of stepping onto new terrain with the Lord. I was full of excitement and faith on one hand, and yet pretty apprehensive on the other. I found myself asking God the following questions:
Is there such a thing as godly confidence? And if so, what does that look like?
What does it look like to have the confidence I need to move forward, past my fear, but not topple headlong into pride?
After all, our culture talks about confidence a good deal but not typically in ways that align with Christian values. You know: a focus on self-confidence, believing in oneself. This didn’t sit right with the humility and dependence on God that I had learned to deeply value (the hard way, I might add).
And yet, I was also realizing that it's not so easy to offer our gifts to others when, deep down, we question if they are actually valuable. After all, who wants to give worthless gifts? No, we want to believe that we have something genuinely good to give that will benefit others.
It was into this tension that the Lord gave me an image that reshaped my whole view of the topic of confidence:
Godly confidence is being a branch.
Immediately, my mind went to John 15.
I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener… Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:1, 4-5
Imagine a disconnected branch off on its own trying to make fruit pop out. As we all know, that’s not how plants work. The image feels completely absurd.
And yet, sometimes it's how we try to work. We expect ourselves to produce and serve from our own reserves of energy, motivation, and wisdom. As though we don’t have a vine to draw upon. And like a branch disconnected from the vine, we quickly dry out.
It would be equally absurd for a branch to think that it doesn’t have anything to offer when it is drawing life from a beautiful and healthy vine.
Sometimes, in our well-intentioned efforts to be humble, we forget that we are connected to a good vine—the true vine—that produces good fruit on its branches. Fruit that is specifically meant to glorify God and to nourish and to uplift others. It is His design for us to produce good fruit, and He promises that we will bear much fruit as we remain in Him.
So, in this simple picture—the healthy branch that remains in the vine and bears fruit—also lies the image of humble confidence.
The confidence piece comes in knowing that everything we need flows from our connection to Jesus, the true vine. We don’t have to strive to be or do anything on our own. We don’t have to pump ourselves up, or be awesome, or make a name for ourselves. We don’t have to draw upon resources we don’t have. He supplies what we need. We just have to stay connected to Him and follow His lead.
The fact that we are His from start to finish means that we belong and are valuable. As we remain connected to the vine, we take on His life and His character. That is His design. That is how it works.
On the flip side, the fact that we are His from start to finish also brings humility. It checks our egos to remember that apart from the vine, we can do nothing. We can’t get too puffed up when we know that we need Jesus in order to produce anything of true and lasting value.
So being a branch means that we can neither think too highly of ourselves nor devalue what God has made.
Pride and insecurity both flourish when we forget our connection to the vine.
Humble confidence flourishes when we remember our connection to the true vine, Jesus.
In trusting Him to supply what we need and contenting ourselves with being a branch—not the source—we are able to move forward into the places He calls us with confidence.
🌿 Questions for Reflection
Are there any areas of my life where I've been operating as though I’m not connected to the true vine, believing that I need to produce fruit through my own self-driven efforts or wisdom?
Are there any areas where I have been undervaluing or withholding the gifts God has given me to share because I have doubted their (or my own) worth?
🙏 Prayer
Lord,
We are so often prone to both pride and insecurity, thinking that we can and should be able to produce what can only come from life in You. Will You help us instead to rest in being a branch?
It’s a beautiful thing to be a branch—remaining close to You and sharing in Your abundant and vibrant life. We don’t have to strive to be awesome or significant if we simply remain connected to You. The fruit that truly matters comes as a natural consequence of life in You.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
Thanks so much for reading!
Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.