Humble Confidence: When Faith Looks Like Stepping Out Scared by Kristy Mast

Feb 03, 2026

don't confuse playing it safe with being humble

Who’s more humble…the person who doesn’t dream, or the one who dares to believe God can?

For much of my life, I misunderstood humility. I thought being humble meant staying small, working behind the scenes, keeping quiet, not drawing attention, and definitely not taking risks. I equated humility with shrinking back so I didn’t seem “too much.” I told myself I was being careful, wise, or discerning, but really, I was afraid. I was mistaking fear for humility. Over time, God showed me that humility isn’t found in hiding, it’s found in trusting. Playing small doesn’t honor God. I thought I was waiting on God, but in reality, God was waiting on me.

The Stage Lesson

Imagine two people who both feel called to share a message God has placed on their hearts. One stands still, unsure and “not ready yet.” The other steps forward trembling, voice shaking, but does it anyway, trusting that if God called her, He would equip her.

Which one is truly humble?

For a long time, I would’ve said the first… the one who stayed still because she didn’t know she could. What I’ve learned, though, is that humility isn’t about playing small; its about trusting big. It’s actually the second person who stepped in faith knowing she couldn’t, but He could.

It’s not hiding your light, it’s acknowledging that any light you have comes from Him in the first place.
True humility says, “I can’t do this on my own, but if You’re calling me, I’ll go.”

That’s humble confidence.

Humility Isn’t Shrinking — It’s Surrendering

"Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less." CS Lewis

When we say, “God, I don’t have what it takes, but I’ll show up if You’re asking,” we demonstrate the deepest kind of humility there is — dependence. Our focus shifts from our capability to God’s faithfulness.

That’s what it means to walk in humble confidence: showing up scared, but showing up anyway.

The Trap of False Humility

I used to hide behind what looked spiritual. I told myself I was being humble, when really, I was just afraid to fail. False humility seems noble...it whispers, “Who am I to do this?” when God has already answered, “You’re Mine.”

Moses did the same thing. When God called him to go before Pharaoh, he said, “Who am I?” And God simply replied, “I will be with you.” That’s the pattern of heaven: God doesn’t inflate your confidence in yourself, He anchors it in His presence. True humility doesn’t hide from calling; it obeys it, even while trembling.

The Beautiful Risk of Bold Dreams

Bold dreams are holy ground because they demand reliance. You can’t chase something beyond your ability without learning how to depend on God.

Bold dreams expose your limits and that’s the point. They force you to pray more. They keep you humble because you know success didn’t come from you; it came through you.

Every “yes” to God requires a death to self-sufficiency. That’s what keeps our confidence holy and humble.

When Faith Got Real

In 2020 when COVID hit, the real estate market went crazy. Practically overnight, buyers began waiving home inspections, and our business, something we’d poured into for years, began to decline. Ten percent. Twenty. Thirty.

Just months before, we’d taken our biggest leap of faith yet by acquiring another company with an aggressive payback plan. What had felt like bold obedience before suddenly looked like a terrible decision. Fear crept in. Did we mishear God? Were we foolish? Had we gone too far?

I remember one night looking at my husband and saying, “We did our due diligence. We prayed. We sought God before we signed the papers. This is where faith becomes real. We can’t let the storm make us question the promise.”

So instead of pulling back, we did something that made zero sense on paper — we expanded. Not into one new market, but two, over a thousand miles away. No guarantees. No safety net. Just faith.

And God met us there. It wasn’t easy, but miracle after miracle followed. Doors opened, the right people appeared, and faith deepened. What began as our hardest season became one of our most defining. We didn’t survive because of strategy, we survived because of surrender.

That was humble confidence in action. Not confidence in our ability, but confidence in His faithfulness.

Childlike Confidence

That season reminded me of the kind of faith my kids had when they were little. They used to leap off the stairs into my arms with no countdown, no warning, no hesitation. They never asked, “What if you drop me?” They just jumped because they knew my character. That’s the kind of confidence God invites us to have in Him. The kind that doesn’t overthink the risk, but simply trusts the catcher.

That’s not arrogance.
That’s trust.

Childlike faith doesn’t calculate the risk, it rests in relationship.

The Paradox of Humble Confidence

It takes humility to dream big when you know you can’t do it without God.
It takes humility to step on a stage knowing He’s the only reason you can speak.
It takes humility to risk failure and still trust that His grace will cover you.

Confidence without humility becomes arrogance. Humility without confidence becomes fear. But when the two meet…when you’re confident in Him and humble before Him — that’s where calling lives.

That’s humble confidence.

Walking It Out

Humble confidence isn’t loud, it’s steady. It’s quiet courage that says yes when everything in you wants to say not yet. You don’t have to prove your strength; you just have to trust His. The world doesn’t need smaller believers, it needs braver ones. Believers who lead with humility and walk in bold faith.

So take the step.
Speak the word.
Start the dream.
And when you do, you’ll find He was already there waiting to catch you.

Prayer Declaration

Lord, give me the courage to step out even when I feel unqualified.
Teach me to dream big but stay grounded in You.
Replace my fear with faith and my hesitation with obedience.
Let my confidence point back to Your strength and my humility reflect Your heart.
Help me to jump when You say "go," trusting that You will always catch me.

Reflection Prompt

Take a few minutes this week to pause and reflect:

Where have you confused playing it safe with being humble?
What dream or opportunity might God be inviting you to revisit with humble confidence?
What would it look like to trust His character more than your comfort this week?

Key Verse

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
— 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)