Finding Faith in Yourself

One of the hardest things we can be asked to do is to believe in ourselves. For a lot of us, it’s easy to believe that God is good. We can believe He’s powerful, loving, and able to work miracles. We can believe that He answers prayer and that He guides people’s lives. But when it comes to believing that He can do something through us — well, that’s where we start to hesitate. 

Transcript

Episode 190 - Finding Faith in Yourself

I think one of the hardest things we can be asked to do is to believe in ourselves. For a lot of us, it’s easy to believe that God is good. We can believe He’s powerful, loving, and able to work miracles. We can believe that He answers prayer and that He guides people’s lives. But when it comes to believing that He can do something through us — well, that’s where we start to hesitate. At least, I know I do.

Maybe it’s because we know ourselves too well. We see all the ways we fall short, all the mistakes we’ve made, all the things we wish we’d done differently. We compare ourselves to people who seem stronger, smarter, more faithful, more… everything. And we quietly decide that while God might work through someone like them, surely He wouldn’t choose someone like us.

But here’s the thing — over and over in scripture, God chose ordinary, imperfect people to do extraordinary things. Moses wasn’t a great speaker, but God chose him to stand before Pharaoh. Gideon was afraid, but God called him a mighty warrior. Peter was impulsive and quick to speak, yet God built His church with him. God doesn’t wait for people to be perfect before He calls them. He calls them, and then He equips them.

Finding faith in yourself isn’t about trusting your own strength. It’s about trusting the One who made you, who knows exactly what you’re capable of, and who promises to walk with you. When we think of it that way, it becomes less about “Do I believe in me?” and more about “Do I believe that God knew what He was doing when He made me?”

For years, I struggled with this. I could cheer other people on. I could point out their gifts and encourage them to step into what God was calling them to do. But when it came to myself, I hesitated. I’d tell myself I wasn’t ready, that someone else could do it better, that I should wait until I had more experience or more confidence. And I can’t tell you how many times that voice in my head talked me out of stepping forward.

What I’ve learned — sometimes the hard way — is that faith in yourself grows when you actually take the step, not before. You don’t wait to feel 100% ready, because you probably never will. Instead, you take the step you can take, even if your knees are shaking, and you trust that God will steady you as you move.

I remember a time when my mom talked me into speaking at her Women’s group from church. My first instinct was to say no. I thought, “Who am I to stand up and share something meaningful? What if I mess up? What if they realize I’m just a regular person who doesn’t have it all together?” “Speak to those women? No way. They are already some of the biggest, baddest, strongest Prayer Warriors I’ve ever met!” But I kept feeling that nudge from God, that quiet whisper saying, “Go.” So I said yes. And you know what? It wasn’t perfect. I stumbled over a few words, my hands shook a little. But afterwards, a woman came up to me and said something I’ll never forget. She said, “What you shared was exactly what I needed to hear today.” That wasn’t me. That was God working through me. And if I had let my self-doubt win, she might have missed it.

That’s the thing — when you have faith in yourself, it’s not about ego. It’s about obedience. It’s about saying, “Lord, I’m willing. Use me.” And that willingness opens doors you didn’t even know were there.

Now, I’m not saying this is easy. Most of us have years of self-criticism built up in our minds. Some of us have been told — directly or indirectly — that we’re not capable, that our voice doesn’t matter, or that we should stay in the background. Those messages sink deep, and they don’t just disappear overnight. But God’s truth can replace them if we let it. Psalm 139:14 says you are fearfully and wonderfully made. Ephesians 2:10 says you are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. Those aren’t just nice verses — they’re declarations of who you really are. And when we start to believe them, it changes the way we live.

One of the ways I’ve learned to build faith in myself is by looking back. I keep a kind of “faith journal,” not just for prayers and blessings, but for moments when I did something I didn’t think I could do — and God showed up. It could be something big, like making a difficult decision, or something small, like having a hard conversation I’d been avoiding. When I look back at those moments, I see a pattern. Every single time, God was faithful. And if He was faithful then, why wouldn’t He be faithful now?

Another thing that helps is surrounding yourself with people who will speak life into you. Sometimes we can’t hear God’s truth clearly over the noise of our own doubts. That’s when we need friends, mentors, or family who will remind us of what’s true. People who will say, “I see this gift in you,” or “You’ve done hard things before — you can do this too.” And sometimes, the best way to grow in faith in yourself is to be that encourager for someone else. When you lift others up, it has a way of strengthening you as well.

It’s also worth saying — finding faith in yourself doesn’t mean you’ll never fail. You will. I will. We all will. But failure isn’t the opposite of faith. It’s often part of the process. When you try something and it doesn’t go the way you hoped, you learn, you adjust, and you keep going. That’s resilience. And that resilience is built on the belief that your value isn’t tied to your performance — it’s rooted in the fact that you are God’s beloved child.

Simple living has a way of stripping back the layers and showing us what’s really there. Without the constant noise of busyness, we start to hear the quieter voices — including the one in our own heads. And sometimes, that voice is kinder than we thought. Other times, it needs a little work. If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, “I can’t do that” or “I’m not good enough,” I want you to pause and ask — who told you that? Was it God? Or was it fear? Because I can tell you, fear has a way of sounding reasonable. But it will keep you small. God’s voice, on the other hand, calls you forward — even when you feel unprepared.

Here’s something I’ve noticed: the more you practice faith in yourself, the more natural it feels. The first few steps are the hardest. But each time you see God show up in your efforts, each time you experience His strength in your weakness, your confidence grows — not in yourself alone, but in Him working through you. That’s the kind of faith that can’t be easily shaken.

Sometimes, faith in yourself looks like stepping into something new. Other times, it looks like staying faithful in something hard. It might mean leading a Bible study, starting a small business, learning a skill you’ve always wanted to try, or simply speaking up when you’d normally stay quiet. It’s not about how big the step is — it’s about trusting that the One who called you is able to carry you.

If you’re listening to this and you’re in a season where you feel small or uncertain, let me just say this: You are more capable than you think. Not because you have it all figured out, but because God is with you. He doesn’t make mistakes. Whatever He’s placed in front of you — that conversation, that decision, that opportunity — you have what you need to take the next step. It might not feel like enough, but in His hands, it is.

Faith in yourself doesn’t grow overnight. It’s built in the quiet, everyday moments when you choose to show up anyway. When you say yes even though you’re nervous. When you keep going even after you’ve stumbled. And when you begin to see that what felt impossible yesterday is simply part of your story today.

So let’s make this the season where we stop underestimating what God can do through us. Let’s believe His truth over our fears. And let’s take that next step — shaky knees and all — trusting that He’s already gone ahead of us.

Because here’s the beautiful truth: God believes in you. And if the One who knows you better than anyone else believes in you, maybe it’s time you do too.

Are you looking to incorporate a little more faith in your Simple Life? Then be sure to check out my book – Faith & a Simple Life. It’s available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback, and there’s a link for it down in the show notes!