Here is something we all can agree on!
We may not all have the same insecurities but we certainly all have them…
Some don’t feel confident with the body they have.
Others feel they don’t have a voice that should be listened to.
There are people, who feel they are too small and shy to become a powerful leader.
While others believe their lack of financial stability dictates the social situations they should permit themselves to be a part of.
These are just examples, but the reality is that someone is struggling with these insecurities and if you are not dealing with one of these insecurities, you are still dealing with an insecurity, that only you know the depths of.
Can I be honest with you?
I am too...
I have plenty of insecurities about myself that I’m dealing with!
You don’t have to share your insecurities with me, but just know that, we all deal with them in one way or another.
Insecurities feel pretty awful, don’t they?
Insecurities have a bad reputation.
We hate the feeling of insecurities as individuals and the world uses our vulnerability in this area.
The world will promote that you change the parts about you that you feel insecure about and then you will feel secure.
Or, the world will say that you should get mad at people or organizations who you perceive are judging your insecurities and making you feel more insecure.
The world will tell you …
“How to get rid of your insecurities”
Or
“How to be secure.”
I am going to step out on a limb and challenge this way of approaching insecurities,
and I will be real with you because that’s how sincerely I want us to stop being so controlled by the emotions that come with insecurities.
Are you ready?
Okay, let’s dig in!
First, we need to understand…
INSECURITIES are from God!
This one statement will confuse half the people reading this and the other half will be outraged that I would even insist that our loving and perfect God would ever send evil insecurities upon His people!
Yes, it is out of the character of God to be evil, that is 100% true! God is love, as we confirmed in the last post when we learned how to recognize love.
I am not suggesting that God is in any way unloving, I am just proposing that we may not be seeing the love involved with insecurities.
That’s not possible!
How could my tormenting insecurities EVER be in the same category as love?
Well, I’ll tell you!
Let’s start with defining insecurities!
An insecurity is a LACK of security, stability and confidence, usually in something pertaining to yourself.
This is because insecurity is a feeling and feelings belong to us emotional beings.
So, if insecurity is the indication of a lack,
This means insecurity is another word for HUNGER!
We learned, in my first post about our desires, that our hungers are from God!
They help us realize that there is an actual need that requires attention and without addressing the need, the result is malnutrition which leads to death.
Hunger helps us, though it isn’t pleasant to experience.
Same with insecurity!
So, insecurities are from God but why does He give them to us?
If insecurity is just like hunger and hunger is to indicate a legitimate need, then insecurity is indicating a legitimate need!
The insecurity indicates a need for safety and confidence in the area you are insecure in.
For example, if you are insecure about your strength, physical stature or your ability to succeed against an adversary, in a physical altercation; and you don’t believe you could ever protect yourself let alone the people you love. The need is for safety, help, strength and protection.
Or, if you are insecure about your appearance and you believe you don’t look good enough to be accepted by those around you or attractive to a future romantic partner, the need is for acceptance and companionship.
Let’s say you are insecure about your finances and you don’t want to be where people could notice that you can’t afford expensive things, because you fear judgement and you believe everyone will think that you don’t measure up and that you can’t provide like you should. The need is still for acceptance but it is also for the sense of being financially safe and able to do well with what you have.
These are just examples, all to show that if you dig to the root of an insecurity, you are sure to find that it began because of a legitimate need…
Again, the need for acceptance, companionship, provision, safety, love; they are all REAL needs that need to be addressed!
They just need to be addressed in the right way, if we are to truly experience authentic security!
Too often, will people say that those desires are not to be addressed because they are worldly, but that is just as true as saying the hunger for food is not to be addressed because it also is worldly.
In Deuteronomy 8:3, we learn that man shall not live by bread ALONE, but by every word that comes from God.
We do need to fully rely on God’s word for life; however, we also need to incorporate food into our diets if we are to keep our body running.
Physical hunger needs to be addressed and so does emotional hunger!
The enemy will have us feeling like the need itself is bad.
The devil will have you believing if you feel a desire, for anything other than praying, reading the Bible, worship music or fasting; you must not be close to God.
You’ll be so busy condemning yourself over this, that you will not address this need, in the proper way; and after a long time starving a real need, how many of you know that you will become real desperate.
Just as the enemy is wanting!
We know that when we are starving, we grab anything in front of us to calm our growling tummy!
The enemy knows our patterns!
What if we didn’t wait until we were starving to feed our legitimate hungers?
Would we make better decisions?
Remember, the need is not the bad part.
The need is neutral!
It is all about HOW we choose to address the need.
Choosing to address your physical hunger is good!
Choosing to do that with a candy bar, Well… That response to your hunger is not beneficial for a thriving body.
We would be unsuccessful, If we sought our full amount of vitamins and nutrients in a bottle of soda, so why do we think we can seek our purpose and approval in empty places like social media, money or fame, and successfully be fulfilled?
We cannot expect empty things to provide us with fullness!
Lets dig a little deeper into this emotional hunger called insecurity!
Let’s go through God’s word and see this in action!
Let’s dive into Genesis 20!
We see Abraham and Sarah, who have been growing and learning for 24 years, since they first had an encounter with God. They are more mature in their faith now, and though they made mistakes on their journey, God still has a promise on reserve for them. In fact, God made a covenant with Abraham three chapters prior and in that same chapter God even gave Abraham a delivery date for the promise that he has been waiting for!
One more year.
Abraham had one more year to go before the promise came!
Abraham was probably out of high hopes but the enemy knew what we often don’t know…
that God’s word WILL come to pass.
While Abraham and Sarah were not getting too excited, the enemy was getting nervous!
In the very first verse we see Abraham: man of faith! In a covenant with the LORD; he journeyed to a new place and pretended Sarah was only his sister, not his wife. He did this because, if a powerful man desired a woman, he would kill the man who she was married to, so he could have her; but if she brought her brother, they would not hurt him, but probably bless him more, so they could earn the hand of his sister.
This isn’t the first time Abraham and Sarah have done this!
The first time was in Genesis 12.
Abraham just began his walk with God and he was scared of being killed by those who might have desired Sarah. Pharaoh blessed Abraham because he thought Sarah was his sister. This fell negatively on Pharaoh but Abraham was sheltered by his deception until he couldn’t hide anymore.
It has been 24 years and Abraham still holds this fear and insecurity.
He’s so desperate that he doesn’t see how it impacts the Kings involved.
Here we go again in chapter 20!
Same scheme, different King!
This king is different though!
This king fears the God of the Hebrews.
This king hears God tell him the truth about Sarah and God warns him not to touch Sarah.
God preserves this promise!
Think about it!
God’s promise had a delivery date and if that king took Sarah as a wife, even if Sarah still miraculously had a baby, the world would say it was the king’s seed not Abraham’s, and the king would probably get the credit for the miraculous pregnancy.
God did everything to preserve the promise even if Abraham worked against the promise.
Abraham obviously wasn’t against the promise!
Abraham wanted this for many years, but because he was insecure and afraid, he chose to feed his hunger for safety and security, the way that he thought would work.
He didn’t even think about how this could impact the promise that was already on the way!
The enemy knew that the promise was close to coming to pass and to completely ruin it, he reminded Abraham of an insecurity he had 24 years ago! Abraham was filled with thoughts that he isn’t powerful and he knew that it was more likely that he would be killed by those who desired Sarah. He didn’t see that God could put favor on him and keep him alive in these foreign lands.
Abraham was hungry for the feeling of safety, because he was afraid that he was a target for enemies. He was hungry for the security of being accepted by the kings, instead of being what stood in the way of their desires for his beautiful wife. He wasn’t confident that he could stand against that, not even with God standing for him!
Our father of faith!
He didn’t feed his hunger for security the right way!
He didn’t choose to feed his insecurity with the faith that God could protect him.
He fed his insecurity with the faith that if he deceived the king and played by the standards of the world, he would be protected.
He just fed the insecurity with what will never be able to truly make him secure!
In verse 10, the king can even recognize that Abraham was focusing on the wrong thing!
“Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?””
Genesis 20:10 NKJV
That’s tough… when the one you tried to deceive, out of fear, tells you that you put your faith in the wrong thing!
So…
- Insecurities are from God
- Insecurities are legitimate hungers
- Insecurities can be fed in either beneficial or futile ways
Because insecurities are an opportunity for us to choose God to meet our needs, God gives us that hunger.
This is why God gives and allows insecurities …
Because, if we never felt insecure, we would never call on Him to be our security.
We wouldn’t realize our need for Him!
We would need Him but we wouldn’t know we were in need at all.
God is Jehovah Jireh.
that means;
The Lord who provides.
He wants to provide for us, but we won’t call on Him to provide if we never lack?
If we never hunger, would we ever seek food?
God is not trying to remove the insecurity!
He is trying to USE the insecurity!
He longs for us to choose Him to fulfill our EVERY need!
He does not want us to be too afraid to address the need but also not quick to feed our insecurities with what is as secure as sinking sand.
“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’”
Isaiah 41:10 NKJV
You never need His strength if you never feel weak …
You never need His protection if you never feel unprotected.
You never need His provision if you never feel lack.
There is beauty in our insecurities!
They are opportunities for God to show His love;
As hunger is an opportunity to experience true fullness.
We can’t deny that we have needs, both physically and emotionally.
God allows this so you will be able to experience Him and His love personally…
Because He knows when you feel a lack, He is the only One able to fill you perfectly.
The INSECURITY isn’t from the enemy
It’s not a curse!
The insecurity is actually a blessing in disguise.
It is from the God who loves you and wants you to trust Him to make you secure.
Photo by Dương Nhân from Pexels
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
