Insecurity

I yearn to have a steadfast, trusting heart and to live in the knowledge that I am living a life where nothing is wasted.  Even in the foggy mist where I can barely see the next step in front of me, I desire to smile because I know His plan is good and right, and He is right at my side carrying me through everything. 

In Beth Moore’s book So Long Insecurity: You’ve Been a Bad Friend to Us, her use of Scripture from the perspective of insecurity slapped me upside the head and told me to live my identity in Christ – to be clothed with strength and dignity.  Here are some notes that I took while reading the book that I never want to forget:

Insecurity is…

·         not a weakness, but an unbelief – not believing what God says about you.

·         a thief that steals your dignity.

·         a downward spiral that snowballs.

Signs of Insecurity:

·         Things come to you more as an offense rather than rolling off your back.

·         Perfectionism – an aspiration to be better than others or always feeling horribly inadequate

How to Walk in Security:

• Determine your triggers of insecurity.  Decide whether or not you are going to take the boot.  You have a scriptural covering that should give you the courage to expose your most personal self.
• Actively will to walk in security – it won’t happen by accident.  Renew your thinking. Don’t believe the lies. Remind yourself that a situation does not have the power to define or diminish you.

·         Attitude is everything – you have the power to choose to think the best or worst about someone.

·         Process something negative without letting it automatically make you insecure.  Who the other person is or how they react does not dwarf who you are. 

·         Give yourself to something greater.  Lose yourself to something larger.  Christ showed us the way.

·         Allow your heart to heal instead of harden. “Grace is the only thing you can give away that you can also keep.”  Grace is not meant to be an excuse for remaining in bondage but is meant for making you completely new. 

Beth Moore references scriptures and shares stories in a conversational style that helps you understand why you think and act the way you do along with solutions to kick insecurity out of your life.  I keep a copy of the prayer at the end (page 348) on my desk at work to read periodically – not just when I feel insecure, but when I feel fatigued or worried or just need to draw strength from my joy in Christ.