There is a big misconception that most people have about cockiness. Cockiness is not overconfidence. It’s misplaced confidence.
You can never be overconfident in God’s ability to work through you. Never.
If God could use a stuttering shepherd to free a nation, he can do anything through you.
If God could use a small boy to defeat a giant, he can do anything through you.
If God could spread the gospel through the most ragtag collection of men in history, he can do anything through you.
Christ-centered confidence doesn’t start with us. It starts with God and having the correct assessment of what He can do through us. Since He can do anything, you can never be too overconfident. In fact if a few people don’t mistake my confidence for cockiness, my audacity for arrogance, then my confidence and faith in God is probably too small.
But your confidence can be misplaced and find itself relying on your abilities and achievements. That’s when it becomes cockiness. The second you begin believing that you can do anything worthwhile apart from God, you’re heading in the wrong direction. Any step towards self-sufficiency is a step away from the Savior.
I think this mentality got the best of Joshua after he defeated Jericho. He had won a major victory, so he reduced his forces and strutted into Ai without his best men. He wasn’t commanded by God to do this. He did not even consult God about it. He presumed God’s future blessing because of his past success. He was confident a small group of men could handle it on their own.
His confidence was misplaced. And he got his tail handed to him.
Gideon on the other hand was specifically commanded to reduce his forces. And the reason was clear: “in order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength saved her” (Judges 7:2). Gideon didn’t hesitate, and by the end of the day his army of 32,000 became a small band of 300. He wasn’t confident this small group could handle it on their own. He was confident God had it covered.
His confidence was well-placed. God got His glory.
You can never be overconfident in God’s ability to work through you. But you can be overconfident in your ability to do anything for God. Or apart from God.
If God could use a stuttering shepherd to free a nation, a small boy to defeat a giant, a ragtag collection of men to spread the gospel, an army of 300 to defeat an army of thousands…He doesn’t need you to do it for Him. And you can’t do it without Him.
