As your child navigates through life, they will encounter situations that may invoke feelings of shyness or discomfort. These feelings are completely normal, everyday situations — but as a parent, you can help circumvent this by developing your child’s confidence with the Bible.
By incorporating the Bible into their everyday life, your child will develop inner strength and learn what it takes to build their confidence — both essential life skills that transcend the classroom and beyond. Here are some ways you can help in developing your child’s confidence.
Understanding God’s Purpose
Before developing your child’s confidence with the Bible, it is important to understand God’s purpose and why he put us here.
God has created us all with specific purposes in mind. He has also provided us with immense talents and gifts — though we may not have access to them immediately. That all comes along with the journey that is life, and developing your child’s confidence is just another important step along the way. And with time, most of us find unique ways to use those gifts to serve others and honor God.
This is why the Bible tells us that “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” (Ephesians 3:12). As children grow up, they’ll begin to understand that their own confidence comes from knowing who they are in Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:20). Your child will learn how to trust themselves because they have been taught from an early age that they were made by God. They understand their worth as a child of God and can begin building healthy self-esteem based on this truth alone.
Reading Stories of Strength
The Bible is full of stories about people who found their purpose and developed their own unique strengths. You can teach your children about some of those stories by reading heroic Biblical accounts with them.
The Bible will provide the foundational building blocks of comfort, encouragement, guidance, and strength because it is filled with stories about people who found their purpose and developed their own unique strengths. By reading biblical accounts with your child, you can then talk together about how these characters faced challenges or overcame obstacles with courage, strength and hope.
Take Deuteronomy 31:6, an especially important verse, for example…
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Overcoming Adversity
Being confident is an ongoing process, and there are always ebbs and flows. Some days will be amazing, and other days may be tougher. Regardless of such, when your kids are confronted with adversity, this provides a perfect chance for you as parents to step up in developing your child’s confidence.
Use this as a time to help them look for opportunities for growth and development. The Bible provides a wonderful resource for inspiration when it comes to overcoming adversity. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 provides a great example of instilling confidence to overcome everyday adversity in your child.
“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
How the Bible Helps in Developing Your Child’s Confidence
If you want to see your child grow up with a healthy self-esteem and positive outlook on life, then make sure they know about God’s love for them.
The Bible is full of stories about people who found their purpose and developed their own unique strengths, and you can teach your kids about those heroes by reading biblical accounts with them or watching movies or television programs that tell tales from the Bible. Whether it’s the story of David and Goliath or Noah, Moses, or Joseph, there are plenty of heroes within the Bible that you can use in developing your child’s confidence.