Insecurity is a form of FEAR produced by fixation on, and yielding to, our “perceived” shortcomings. Things like: “I am no good. I am incompetent. I am inferior to everyone.”
That is what I call SITUATIONAL insecurity and, if unchecked, it will inevitably lead to GENERAL insecurity that pervades our very soul and never goes away.
Early in my faith walk my insecurity started out as SITUATIONAL. I felt inadequate and worthless. That I didn’t deserve God’s acceptance. That I simply wasn’t good enough.
Those words did not feel like a LIE. They felt like they were the TRUTH.
I had no idea how God wanted to use me. I was convinced that most Christians had some grand, passionate calling like poverty or homelessness or clean water—and were leaving a legacy on that road.
Me? I was not providing any useful service to God’s Kingdom, let alone leaving such a legacy.
I had absolutely no idea what my spiritual gifts might be where God was calling me to serve. I was good at many things. Great at a few. But all of that seemed irrelevant and more like a curse because there wasn’t a clear offering I could take to the world and “go to work for God.”
All of that conspired to exponentially blow up my perceived inadequacy and sacked me with GENERAL insecurity that had taken over my soul.
Looking back on that dark period today produces pain, of course. But it serves up an opportunity to see that, in the end, all forms of insecurity come from being disconnected from Christ.
THAT is when we should feel deep and painful insecurity.
If we’re disconnected from Christ, we will grab our identity from something or someone else that is inextricably linked to what we love and want and lust for in life. This is the DANGER ZONE!
God allows insecurity in our life as a signal that we are out of alignment in how we view our identity. That we must examine it to escape danger and pain. That we need to immediately seek his truth about who we are.
This is how Christ makes us more secure than we ever dreamed possible.
I ask God to remind me that insecurity is a form of fear produced by believing the lies we tell ourselves about our shortcomings. Then drop me to my knees and bring me to your Cross to learn about my true identity in you.
HOW ABOUT YOU?
Have you identified your source of insecurity so you can allow God to take it out of play by powering up your prayers to God?
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” 1 John 4:18
