Insecurity: Friend or Foe?

I love the Bible!

Every year, I read through the entire Bible starting in January. Without fail, I learn something new. The Holy Spirit illuminates scripture in new ways, and I see things from a different angle. That’s how we know the Word of God is living and active (Hebrews 4:12)!

As I read through the story of King Saul, I saw something about him I had never seen before. I always think of King Saul as a powerful man, proud and arrogant, vengeful, and so much more. This time, I noticed something different about him:

When Samuel had all Israel come forward by tribes, the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot.  Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri’s clan was taken. Finally Saul son of Kish was taken. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found.  So they inquired further of the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?”

And the Lord said, “Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.”

They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the man the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” 1 Samuel 10:20-24

Although Saul had already been anointed king, he was hiding when Samuel was introducing him to the people. He stood out among people, and it was obvious that he was special.

Yet, his insecurities caused him to hide.

Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel….I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them. 1 Samuel 15:17, 24b

Samuel called it! Saul was “small in his own eyes” even though everyone else–and God–saw something inside of him. His insecurities prevented him from becoming all God created him to be and do.

As we keep reading the story of Saul, we see so much more! Sadly, we see that eventually Saul’s insecurities cause a rapid downward spiral. The spirit of God departs from him (1 Samuel 16:14), he becomes increasingly jealous of David (1 Samuel 18:9), and he eventually loses the kingdom.

Despite what God knew was inside of Saul, he was paralyzed and eventually destroyed by his insecurities.

But it doesn’t have to be that way!

Let’s take a look at Gideon. Gideon was a judge in Israel. Just like Saul, he argued with the spirit of God, arguing that he had to have the wrong man.

“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” Judges 6:15

Despite his slow start, Gideon took a different path from Saul. Instead of continuing to be paralyzed by his insecurities, he chose to accept God’s word, to believe the calling God had placed on his life. He chose to trust God to do what He had promised to do.

He chose to allow God to work through his weaknesses to show Himself powerful!

And that, my friends, is the lesson we all need to learn. We can allow our insecurities to destroy our lives, or we can allow God to work through our insecurities.

What about you? We all have insecurities, but how do we handle them? Do we allow them to eat at us, to cause a downward spiral like Saul? Or, do we hear God whisper to us, “My power is made perfect in your weakness?” (2 Corinthians 12:9) It’s really our choice. We take Saul’s path with our insecurities, or we take Gideon’s path.

How do we allow God to use our insecurities for His purposes?

Look at insecurities as an opportunity to rely on God. I have always preferred to go into situations somewhat insecure because I know I will be forced to rely on God rather than my own power.

There are things I am really good at, things I can do in my own power. I was always an exceptional student in school. It came naturally to me. Others around me would be nervous about tests, but I was able to walk in with no fear.

But, there are other things I feel God has called me to that I am not so confident about. I’ve been asked to speak before crowds, and it makes me nervous. I don’t see myself as a naturally gifted speaker. I need hours of preparation, hours of pouring over my notes to ensure I know what I am going to say. In that situation, I always find myself calling out to God, asking Him to take over. I want nothing but His words to come from my mouth.

My insecurities as a speaker cause me to rely on God’s power–and in so doing I find that He uses my insecurities to let His power be on display.

Have faith that God will do what He says He will do. Where is your insecurity? Gideon thought surely God had lost His mind when He was called a mighty warrior. However, he chose to believe that God would do what He said He would do.

And guess what? God whittled Gideon’s army down to just 300 men. As Gideon continued to trust God, God gave Gideon a mighty victory! God did exactly what He said He would do.

God showed Himself strong through Gideon.

Choose obedience in every step of the journey. Right up there with having faith that God will do what He says He will do, we have to be obedient. Every step of the journey requires obedience.

What if Gideon had chosen not to obey God’s command to whittle his army down to 300 men? It had to be a crisis of faith, one where he debated whether he should be obedient. Read the story of Gideon in Judges 6-7. See how he walked in obedience, seeking God’s directions at every turn. He never departed from His walk with God.

And I love how God gave Gideon opportunities to bolster his faith and his confidence in Judges 7:9-17!

God knows exactly what we need and gives us those boosts! He is such a loving and faithful God!

See yourself through God’s eyes. How many of us truly see ourselves as God does? How many times do we attach labels to ourselves such as broken, divorced, failure?

My friend, those are our labels, not God’s labels! When God looks at us, He sees the blood of Jesus washing over us to make us perfect! He sees us as beloved children, chosen, royalty, precious. He sees people made perfect in Christ Jesus, the image of God Himself. He looks at us with the tender, loving eyes of a perfect Father.

We have to learn to take off the human labels that prevent us from drawing near to God! We have to look at ourselves and see what God sees! That is the cure for our insecurities!

What about you? What are your insecurities? Are they leading you down a path of destruction like King Saul? Or, are you ready and willing to draw near to God and let Him use your insecurities as a channel for His power? It’s really your choice.

I will leave you with one verse that I hope you will apply to your insecurities today:

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7