Constant Warfare
47 Now when Saul had taken the kingdom over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, the sons of Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines; and wherever he turned, he [t]inflicted punishment. 48 He acted valiantly and [u]defeated the Amalekites, and delivered Israel from the hands of [v]those who plundered them.
49 Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan and Ishvi and Malchi-shua; and the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn Merab and the name of the younger Michal. 50 The name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the captain of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. 51 Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.
52 Now the war against the Philistines was severe all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any mighty man or any valiant man, he [w]attached him to [x]his staff.
Though Saul was doing a lot of fighting, it does seem he gained some confidence from the early battles and is described as acting valiantly and inflicting punishment on those who had plundered Israel.
So with all his foibles and a rocky start to his reign, Saul found his confidence. While it doesn’t say as much, one would hope his confidence was placed in the God who fought for Jonathan, and the One who chose him to be king.
When God calls you to do something, it can be easy to have a false humility, or a plain lack of confidence. But when God is in the work, we can have confidence. Not because we are so amazing, but because He is with us.