Jesus Christ our Lord is the epitome of a secure person. Though He was divine, He lived on earth as a human being, facing all the limitations of the physical body as we do.
Because He lives within us, as believers, we can allow His security to become ours - thus, helping us overcome our insecurity concerning things like competition, forgiveness, self-centeredness, and our inability to trust others.
Trust is Key
Many of us know people who cannot delegate. Their desks are always piled high and they are likely to talk about how busy they are. This inability to be a trusting person, even carrying over into the inability to delegate, has at its roots deep insecurity.
Our Lord Jesus, even at age twelve, was surprised that His parents could not trust Him to be about His Father's business. Is it possible that Jesus was such a secure person that He assumed His parents were as secure as He was? Like most of us, they came from such an unstable hereditary environment that it was difficult for them to be the trusting people their son expected them to be.
Mary and Joseph lived in an environment of negatives. Probably every day the conversation was mixed with uncertainties and hearsay. Rumor and horror-filled happenings were the topics of the day's chatter. The future was always clouded with gloomy predictions.
Inasmuch as people don't really change, they probably talked constantly about the scarcity of food and its unbelievable cost; constantly about the political situations and, of course, how leadership could never be trusted.
It probably sounded much like the twentieth-century environment in which we were raised. The kind of society we were born into does not produce secure adults.
Dealing With Our Old Nature
Even after we receive the Lord Jesus and His sacrificial death, and know that our names are written in The Book, we remain basically insecure. Our destination changes, some of our habits change, but seldom does our old nature become entirely a new one.
Most of our inability to trust God comes from an insecure, unstable past. Our subconscious minds have been so permeated by the ravages of sin-blighted humanism that it is difficult to become God-trusting people.
Many Christians grow up hearing more about the failure of prayer than about its success. We hear more about God punishing man than about His being good to them. We hear far more unanswered questions about His nature than we do clear-cut explanations of His faithfulness.
After we become Christians, we fight a continuous battle with doubt, fear, and unbelief.
Like so many others, I have had to battle a childhood fear that as soon as all was going well and things were getting easier, look out - that's just the time I could be hit by an avalanche of trouble.
"If the farmers had a bumper crop this year, they are sure to have three years of drought." "If someone seems happily married, just wait awhile and their troubles will begin. The honeymoon won't last!"
The many insecurities of a godless society become deeply entrenched in our minds. These insecurities when brought over into our Christian faith inhibit us greatly, dogging our path and harassing us relentlessly.
Many pastors and leaders have great difficulty in delegating authority and responsibility because they have never faced the underlying reasons. They need to confess this weakness and be healed from these insecurities by constantly acknowledging God's security that is in them through salvation.
Our Best Example
Our Lord Jesus sets good examples for us to follow. He delegated authority and trusted that things would be carried out: the fetching of the colt to ride during the triumphant entry, the securing of the room for the Last Supper, the handling of finances by another, the feeding of the multitude.
When He returned to heaven, He delegated to us the authority to use the keys of the Kingdom here on earth. "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind (stop) on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose (allow) on earth salt be loosed in heaven" (Matt. 16:19).
Not only does our insecurity interfere with our simple faith in God and in prayer, it even interferes with our trusting each other. Our backbiting, our gossipy nature, our running each other down, come from childhood insecurities.
By reading the Psalms carefully, you will notice how often our fears and insecurities are mentioned first, then the call to trust in the Lord.
Israel was extremely insecure after having been in Egypt for over 400 years. Even after God sent Moses, delivered them, supplied them with all they needed, and even caused their shoes to last forty years, they couldn't trust God to take them into the Promised Land.
Many times Christians can relate past answers to prayer and tell of their glories. But today they are experiencing difficulty due, I am sure, to the unfaced insecurities of childhood hang-ups.
We, as the Psalmist, must closet ourselves in the sanctuary to take care of the emotional pressure we sense as we live in a God-hating world (Read Psalm 73).
Which Kind Are You?
There seem to be two types of Christians, one by far in the majority. The verse most of these people quote is Psalm 56:3, "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." A very good verse. But notice this person is saying, "When fear comes, I will trust God." It is almost as if he is saying, "I know fear is on its way; when it comes, I will trust Him."
The other Christian, the one in the minority, is quoted in the same chapter, verse eleven: "In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me."
This Christian has a relationship with his Lord that supersedes fear. He is always ready for anything that can happen. This relationship with the Lord seems to be the obvious answer to the insecurity dilemma.
This relationship with the Lord is a daily walk with Him, a trusting fellowship. The insecurities of the past and the insecurities constantly surrounding us will not automatically fade away. They must be faced with a constant confession of who we are in Christ, what He has done for us, and what He has prepared for us.
Confessions
Instead of confessing what we can't do, let us say boldly, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Phil. 4:13).
Instead of confessing our weakness, let us remind ourselves that the Word teaches us to say, "Let the weak say, I am strong" (Joel 3:10).
Instead of confessing our sickness and infirmities, let us confess, "…with his stripes we are healed" (Isa. 53:5).
No longer should we talk about the weak society surrounding us, but of the heavenly host surrounding us.
I refuse to let my mouth violate my believing heart by uttering anything that defeats the finished work of my Lord Jesus on the cross for me.
My insecurities fade away as I realize my security in Christ. I trust Him, so I can now be more trusting with others. I can delegate others to help me, and even let them get all the credit, for I am a secure person in Christ.
Is it any wonder that most divorces have as their chief cause deep insecurity, the inability to trust each other?
Marriage does not change personalities. It does not erase childhood patterns and, in most cases, does not erase insecurity. In fact, if the insecurities are there, it may even magnify them.
I would strongly urge all married couples to take time to discuss with each other any problems they feel have followed them from a very insecure childhood. Sometimes it is financial; but it could be sexual, even loneliness.
Face them, get them out in the open, and begin to allow the security of the Lord to surface in your lives, thus in your home. Become trusting spouses.
Confession/Prayer
I will face any insecurities that hinder me from trusting others. If I cannot delegate, there must be a reason. Lord, help me to face up to this weakness. As I grow in my ability to trust You, Lord, I should grow in my ability to trust others.
If I am not growing in my ability to trust others, to delegate, even to allow others to receive credit, then it is possible, Lord, that I am not trusting You as I should. My confession is, I will overcome all my insecurities and become a trusting soul by Your help. Amen.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Roy H. Hicks was a successful minister of the Gospel who gave his life to pastoring and pioneering churches throughout the United States.
He served the Lord in various foreign fields, having made missionary journeys to South America, the Orient, Australia, and New Zealand.
