“Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader…”
-1 Samuel 15:17 (NLT)
Perhaps the most underestimated enemy of your purpose is the enemy of insecurity.
Nothing will delay your destiny like the unchallenged presence of deep seeded insecurity. You were created for purpose, on purpose, but insecurity will work very hard to undermine that purpose.
Insecurity will keep you:
The only way to really eliminate the enemy of insecurity is to confront it. So below I’ve listed “5 Ways to Defeat the Enemy of Insecurity.”
When you have an encounter with the enemy of insecurity, your first instinct will be to indulge in a distraction in order to temporarily numb the pain created by that discomfort. Resist the urge to get lost in your TV, popping in your earbuds, or playing video games in order to escape that discomfort. Those are all examples of retreating when you should be defeating! In order to identify and eliminate the enemy of insecurity you have to stop and ask yourself the difficult questions like, “Why did I respond that way to that person or to that situation? Why did I lash out or retreat so quickly during that conversation? Why do I feel threatened by someone else’s success right now?” It’s hard to attack and defeat the enemy of insecurity if we’re not willing to identify it.
You can’t fix a problem that you pretend isn’t there. You have to first admit to yourself and then to those that are closest to you that you struggle with some area of insecurity.
Call it out:
It’s amazing how much victory you can achieve in life by simply admitting to yourself and the people closest to you that you struggle with some area of insecurity in your life. James 5:16 teaches us to “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed…” That’s not to say that insecurity is sinful, but the principle of confession still remains. If you want to experience healing in the area of your insecurity be honest about your struggle with it. Don’t assume that the people in your life don’t already know that your insecurity is there. They probably already know, but no ones talking about it because, well, your insecure!
[shareable cite=”@PastorTHall”]You can’t fix a problem that you pretend isn’t there.[/shareable]
You have to be willing to say like Caleb (in the bible) said, “God is for me, I can do this!” Joshua and Caleb both saw the same enemies that the other 10 men sent to spy out the land that God promised them saw, but they decided to see themselves as God saw them and not as their enemies did. Choose to celebrate the confidence and success of others in your insecure moments and eventually you’ll begin to experience that same confidence and success in your own life.
The enemy of insecurity is no match for the spirit of humility. Insecurity takes credit. Humility gives credit away. Insecurity rejects someone else’s promotion. Humility celebrates someone else’s promotion. Insecurity is always suspicious, humility offers people the benefit of the doubt. Humility is teachable, insecurity is prideful. Choose humility and the insecurity in your life will get it’s first taste of defeat!
[shareable cite=”@PastorTHall”]The enemy of insecurity is no match for the spirit of humility.[/shareable]
Start taking every insecure thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Replace the way the enemy of insecurity wants you to think about yourself with the way God thinks about you. Do you know how David could defeat Goliath? Before he killed that giant standing before him, he had to kill the giant of insecurity within him. And David had plenty of reasons to feel insecure. His own father didn’t believe in him, his brothers made fun of him and called him insignificant. But David didn’t let those giants of insecurity stick around very long for David was constantly choosing to see himself the way God saw him – as more than a conquerer! That’s why David could write, “ I am fearfully and wonderfully made!” That’s why the Apostle Paul could write in the New Testament “If God before us, WHO can be against us?”
I would love to hear about some ways the you’ve implements to get victory over the enemy of insecurity! Please share in the comments below.
Equipping leaders to Start well, Stay well, and Finish well.