to his protégé, Timothy, in 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (or cowardice), but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline (or self-control)."

Timothy was a young pastor at the church of Ephesus, and the Apostle Paul was his mentor. Paul encouraged Timothy in the first letter to not let others intimidate him because of his young age. Timothy was afraid of being inadequate as a young pastor.

In this second letter to Timothy, Paul reminds Timothy that any cowardice in his life did not come from God’s Spirit; rather God gave him a spirit of power, love and self-control. Power, plus love, plus self-control equals confidence.

Now I’m not talking about power that comes from money, material possession or manipulation. All of us know people who have wealth and influence but lack true confidence. Only God’s Spirit can give you the power you need for enduring confidence. Only God’s Spirit can give you the love and self-control you need for true confidence. Let me detail out God’s building blocks for confidence and then conclude with how you can receive God’s Spirit.

FIRST, we move from fear to confidence by being plugged into God’s power. The fear of unemployment, of war, of future terrorist attacks, of the unknown beyond the grave are all tied to two major fears: The fear of inadequacy and the fear of death.

The solution to both of these fears is having God’s power that enables us to face life’s challenges and death’s challenges. The Bible tells us, "Now to him [God] who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! (Ephesians 3:20-21)."

Our governmental leaders and church leaders have been turning to God for wisdom since the terrorist attacks last Tuesday. Only God can bring adequate wisdom and power to respond in our time of need. God does not limit His power to leaders, but the Bible tells us He generously gives wisdom, courage and perseverance to all who ask. All of us need God’s power in our personal lives, also.

About a year ago, I was on the phone with someone who was very afraid of going through two serious surgical procedures. Yet, she would die if she did not do those procedures. God gave me the opportunity to lead her to receive His Spirit. Her later dependence on God pulled her through both procedures courageously. God’s Spirit provides power to face life’s challenges.

Furthermore, God is the only One Who can truly resolve our fear of death. The American saying, "Life is short, and then you die," is incomplete. The Bible tells us, "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him (Hebrews 9:27-28)."

About a month ago, I was on the phone with someone whose relative was dying. The relative wanted to die because he was in poor health and was very depressed. This relative had ignored God all of his life until my friend told him how he could make right his relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Within two days, the relative died. Yet, after receiving God’s Spirit, the relative viewed