Receiving Confirmation

Before the NFL season kicks off each year, we draw certain conclusions or have a sense of which direction teams should take. As we experience the season, we look to confirm our beliefs and perspectives about each team, player, and coach.

Oftentimes, fans and media have a shared consensus of beliefs before week 1, and many of those predictions are confirmed true so far this season, including:

• Sean Payton is one of the elite coaches in the NFL, and the Broncos are on the right track.
  

• Ben Johnson will turn the Chicago Bears around and make them competitive.
  

• The Cincinnati Bengals have to keep Joe Burrow healthy if they want to be a winning team.
  

• As long as quarterback Matthew Stafford is healthy, the Rams are a playoff team.

  
  

• The Eagles will be one of the top teams again because they return so many players from their Super Bowl team.
  

•  Josh Allen is the most impressive dual-threat quarterback and playmaker in the NFL.
  

• The Cowboys have a tremendous passing attack with a healthy Dak Prescott and wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
  

• The Titans and Saints are the worst teams in the league.
  

As fans, there are a few ways we can confirm that what we believed at the start of the season is still true heading into week 12.

One way is to watch a team or a specific player with our own eyes so we can experience for ourselves what they are like on the field.

We gain further confirmation about a team when we hear or read what an NFL analyst communicates. When their wise thoughts and observations align with ours, we can be more confident in our conclusions.

Finally, we develop particular feelings or convictions about teams. Every time we watch or talk about them, our gut feelings keep being confirmed because all the signs point to what we're sensing about a team being true.

Likewise, as followers of Jesus, we have beliefs about life, God, and what we're supposed to do next. We also desire confirmation of what we believe to be true.

Some of us today are praying God will confirm that He still loves us, has a purpose for us, and has truly forgiven our sins. Thankfully, He confirms all of this in His Word and by what He's already done for us.

God sent Jesus to die on the cross on our behalf and rise again, and desires for us to know Him, follow Him, and be with Him for eternity. When we place our faith in Jesus, our right standing before God is also confirmed.

1 John 5:20 (ESV) says, "And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life."

Others of us are praying that God will confirm specific details in our lives, such as whether we should change jobs, move, donate our money, serve with our gifts and time, or speak up about important things. We believe we need to make certain decisions and must trust God for His confirmation of what is best.

So how does God confirm that something we believe is true and is what He's leading us to do?

We must see Him (His character) clearly with our own eyes and experience Him and His presence for ourselves as we unpack His Word and fellowship with Him. God will open our eyes and help us see what we need to know about Him and our situation.

Paul shares this prayer in Ephesians 1:17-19 (AMP) that we can also pray: "[I always pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may grant you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation [that gives you a deep and personal and intimate insight] into the true knowledge of Him [for we know the Father through the Son].

And [I pray] that the eyes of your heart [the very center and core of your being] may be enlightened [flooded with light by the Holy Spirit], so that you will know and cherish the hope [the divine guarantee, the confident expectation] to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints (God's people), and [so that you will begin to know] what the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His [active, spiritual] power is in us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength…"

God gives us the wisdom, revelation, and knowledge of what is true as we read Scripture, and may also confirm something as we listen to a Biblical sermon/podcast or hear a worship song.

Sometimes God also confirms things through the wise people in our lives, and we make sure that what they say lines up with what the Bible says.

If we follow Jesus and live Holy Spirit-filled lives, when God calls us to do something, we also receive confirmation through the peace, clarity, conviction, and promptings He provides.

It's much more than a feeling, but we'll sense the truth as God gives us discernment to confirm what direction all the signs are pointing toward.

Today, as we pray, let's ask God to confirm the truth and open our eyes and ears to what He's really showing us.

I'm Bryce Johnson, and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, help me only to believe true things, and please give me the confirmation to know the difference. I pray I'll be aware of the ways You're leading me and know clearly when You are giving me confirmation. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.