Security

Security

I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.

Psalm 16:8

Someone listed in Who’s Who has no guarantee against feelings of insecurity. Although it sounds like an oxymoron, just because a person is well-known doesn’t mean he or she necessarily feels secure.

A famous person in the Bible had a huge problem with insecurity. Saul came from a rich and influential family, and the Bible describes him as the most handsome man in Israel (1 Samuel 9:1-2). Notice, though, what Saul says to Samuel when they first meet: “I’m only from Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel, and my family is the least important of all the families of that tribe!” (1 Samuel 9:21).

The first king of Israel, Saul was often tossed back and forth between his feelings and his convictions, and he frequently gave in to an inferiority complex. I wonder if instead of suffering from an inferiority complex, he wasn’t really choosing an inferiority complex. It’s easy to do that. Like Saul, we can slide into the choice of being more us-focused than God-focused. When that happens with some frequency, we tend to plan and interpret most of life in terms of ourselves, forgetting that the purpose of our life on earth is to serve God and bring glory to him.

The more Saul was consumed with himself, the more arrogant, jealous, and insecure he became. Imagine how different life would have been for Saul if he, like David, had focused on God. We will never find the cure for our insecurity by looking within ourselves. “The cure of our insecurity,” wrote Betsy Childs, “is not to become more secure in ourselves, but more confident in God.”

Lord,

Thank you for your strong presence that brings us security as we trust in you. In Jesus’ name, amen.