You do you. You're good enough on your own. You're perfect. You are worthy. I deserve _____. I love myself, and that's all that matters.
Today, these self affirmations not only seem good, but they seem uplifting and essential to leading a confident life. None of these things are inherently bad, but there is a common flaw that makes them invaluable to gaining confidence: they put the central point of worthiness at the self (I mean, they are called self affirmations). When our confidence is based upon our own ability, it is bound to be lacking. It is impossible to accomplish everything on our own, so when we fall short, our confidence will plummet. But if we base our confidence upon God, who never fails, then our confidence's stability isn't based upon an ever-changing standard anymore.
Let's take a look at Exodus 3. We are all probably familiar with the story of Moses and the Burning Bush, but let me set the scene: Moses grew up in the palace of Pharaoh, but ran away to Midian once he realized the Egyptians were torturing his people as slaves. From then on, he became a normal Shepherd with a normal family; nothing special about him. But one day, as Moses is "tending to the flock of his father-in-law," the Lord appears to him in a burning bush. He tells Moses that he is the one the Lord has chosen to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. And as any normal person would do, Moses freaks out. That's where we leave off, and that is where this lesson of self affirmation begins.
"But Moses protested to God, 'Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?' God answered, 'I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.' But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?' God replied to Moses, 'I am who I am. Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you.' God also said to Moses, 'Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.
This is my eternal name,
my name to remember for all generations.
'Now go and call together all the elders of Israel. Tell them, ‘Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me. He told me, 'I have been watching closely, and I see how the Egyptians are treating you. I have promised to rescue you from your oppression in Egypt. I will lead you to a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.'" Exodus 3:11-17
There is a clear structure to this passage. First, God says to do. He tells Moses exactly what to do, down to the last detail. For every what-if, there is a clear solution. God does not leave us wondering how to accomplish His plan, or what could happen if we fail, because God can do anything but fail. He never leaves us questioning whether His plan will work, because it always will. And if it doesn't, then it isn't truly His plan.
Second, Moses questions his abilities. He asks God "What if the people don't believe me?" or "Who am I to go speak and lead on your behalf?" Similar to self affirmation, all of Moses's doubts were focused on his own abilities. He thought he wasn't smart enough, strong enough, or worthy enough to do God's work. We are all put in situations where God tells us to talk to someone about Him, or to go out on a limb to fulfill our purpose. And more often than not, instead of our answer being "yes God," it is filled with a bunch of what-if's and more questions. All of these questions of doubt are valid. Who are we, mere people who can hardly live for God ourselves, to lead others to Him as well? What makes us worthy?
What makes us worthy is the character of God, which leads to the third and final structure of the passage: God affirms His own capabilities, not Moses's. When Moses says "what am I," God doesn't answer "you are." Instead He answers "I am" and "I will." God is the one who is worthy. He is the one who will do His work. All He asks is for us to say yes and go after Him. He never once affirms Moses and his abilities, because Moses really was an average guy just like us. God didn't choose Moses because he could get the job done alone; He chose Moses because He needed someone to be obedient to His plans.
The problem will self affirmation is that it puts pressure on us to live up to a certain standard. God affirms us that not only does He live up to that standard, He is that standard. We no longer have to wonder if we're good enough, because He already is. So stop telling yourself you're worthy one day, and that you're nothing the next. Instead, remind yourself that through Jesus, you are made worthy every day. If God is the one doing the work, there's no question of whether or not He'll succeed. The only question is whether or not you are willing to be a part of it.
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