5 Women in the Bible Who Put Their Confidence in God
It would be a sad day to wake up and discover that you couldn't rely on anything or anyone.
Thankfully we can put our confidence in God in all seasons and above everything and everyone else.
If we couldn’t rely on anything, life could get interesting really fast.
Read on to learn about 5 women in the Bible who put their confidence in God and the difference it made in their situations.
What Does the Bible Say About Having Confidence in God?
If you go searching for the word confidence you might just miss the part where the Bible teaches us repeatedly about how we can rely on God.
As we read the stories of the many individuals that had to trust God in difficult situations, we see the God of Hebrews 13:8 NLT which “is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
We get to see how he led His people out of slavery in Exodus, how He showed up for Daniel in the lion’s den, and how he kept Paul and the others from dying during shipwreck.
It is through the various biblical accounts that confidence in God is played out through action rather than merely words.
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Placing Your Confidence in God and Not Man
David says in Psalm 118:8-9 ESV “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.”
David knew first-hand what it was like to be threatened, go through trials, and be betrayed by man.
He wasn't encouraging us to never trust others to some degree, but in his wisdom, God was the only one that you could trust in 100%.
David had the proper perspective to have full confidence in God.
Becoming Spiritually Strong in the Lord
In order to have confidence in God, we must become spiritually strong. This means we must be more influenced by the Holy Spirit than our feelings, thoughts, peers, etc.
When hard seasons or test come our way, it’s tempting to rely on what worked before or someone else’s solution.
But this isn’t always the best route, because no two lives are the same. That means what worked for our neighbor may not work for us.
God is already in and ahead of us in our situation and He already knows how He's going to work it out. Our job is to trust Him.
We can build that kind of trust up through relationship with Him in prayer, reading the Bible and seeing His proven track record, and reflecting how He has shown up for us before.
What is Having Confidence in God?
If you put your trust in something then to some degree you release control. You believe that person or thing won't let you down.
With God, you have to do the same. When you invite Him to help you that means you let go of how it turns out.
God never disappoints. Sure it may not turn out the way you hoped and prayed for, but what He does do makes Him reliable.
Gaining Confidence in God
Think about how you learned to rely on anything else. You tried it once and it worked. Then you repeated it, because it didn’t fail you.
As a child you may have gotten on the swing and stayed low out of fear of its reliability. You likely kept going higher once you realized it wasn't going to push you off.
This is how we must be with God. We have to just trust Him. With each round, our confidence deepens for the next time.
The Difference Between Confidence and Faith
Faith is something that God places in each person who believes. The Bible says that He gives us a measure of faith. No matter how that compares to the next person, that seed of faith is enough for our lives.
Confidence is being fully assured in whatever God has said based on evidence.
Hebrews 11:1-2 provides that faith is different than confidence, because it operates without evidence.
Women in the Bible Who Put Their Confidence in God
During bleak situations, the following women managed to place their trust in God.
Hannah
Hannah's’s story is found in the book of 1 Samuel where she is described as a woman married to a man named Elkanah. She wasn't the only wife of her husband, but she was barren and could not have children.
Though this wasn't a problem for her husband, it was heartbreaking for Hannah.
One year she went into the tabernacle at Shiloh and cried out to God. She was so intense in her petition that the priest Eli thought she was drunk and rebuked her.
After she explained that she was praying, the priest blessed her and so did God.
Hannah conceived a son name Samuel who she ultimately dedicated back to God.
Hannah was blessed by God despite the shame and torment she experienced. She went on to have more children.
Esther
Esther was a Jewish maiden who was raised by her Uncle Mordecai.
In the book of Esther she is outlined as being 1 of 400 women brought before King Xerxes after he got rid of his prior wife.
King Xerxes didn’t know Esther was a Jew, so when a plan was plotted to kill all the Jewish people, Esther was in the right position.
Though she could have lost her life, Esther placed her confidence in God and went before the king to petition him to save her people.
As a result, her people were saved and their enemies taken care of.
Rahab
Rahab's story is found in the book of Joshua. She was a businesswoman in the risqué industry of prostitution.
Most people would not consider her a candidate for God's blessing nevertheless being an ancestor of Jesus, but she was!
When Joshua sent two spies into the land God has promised His people, Rahab hid the men. She only had one request...that she and her family members be saved when Israel battled the Caananites.
Not only was Rahab and her family spared, but her confidence in God helped His people and landed her in the hall of faith found in Hebrews 11.
Sarah
Sarah was the wife of Abraham. You will find her story in many parts of the book of Genesis.
The Bible reports that Sarah was beautiful and unable to conceive a child. One day God promised that she and her husband would parent a son, but Sarah laughed in disbelief.
The two were old in age. Most people would think it reasonable that she would have doubts, but not God. He wanted Sarah to trust Him.
It took years, but when Sarah placed her confidence in God rather than her own devices, it happened!
Shiphrah and Puah
This duo was midwives. Their story can be found in Exodus.
In a time where Pharaoh had sent down a decree to kill on the male children of the Hebrews, the defied his orders and saved them.
It could have cost them their lives, but they placed their confidence in God and courageously prevented a genocide of the Hebrew children.
Confidence in God looks different depending on our individual scenarios. For some confidence looks like courage while for others, it looks like hope.
The beautiful part is that no matter which direction you call God from, He is more than able and can be totally relied upon.