There is a confidence that comes from believing that God has you where he wants you. Throughout history, God has put specific people into particular positions for definitive reasons. And he has you where he wants you. But notice that it wasn’t just a deep trust in God that affected Paul’s outlook. Being convinced that God was up to something greater than the circumstances in front of him provided a spirit of expectancy and hopefulness that allowed Paul to maintain a sense of positivity. He said, “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so
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