Understanding Insecurity
Transcription
Understanding Insecurity
mar22 | tuesday | O n e Y e a r J o u r n e y: J o s h . 1 0 - 1 2 ; L u k e 1 : 3 9 - 5 6 Understanding Insecurity Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” 2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” 3 And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. — exodus 4:1–3 1 journal: • Where or when do I most sense my insecurities? • To what degree am I ready to let God work in me and through me despite my insecurities? engage: prayer: Lord, sometimes I even feel insecure about prayer. And I remember that Paul said we don’t know how to pray as we ought (Romans 8:26), so I’m counting on Your Spirit to intercede for me. Allow me to be Your faithful servant, not because of any abilities I have but because Your strength is made perfect in my weakness and insecurity. In Jesus’ name, Amen. God gave Moses a job to do. He said, “Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt” (Exodus 3:10). More than two million descendants of Jacob were living as slaves in Egypt—God’s people—and He didn’t want it that way. He wanted them moved back to the Nation of Israel, the Promised Land. And so He was calling Moses. “Moses, this is My plan for you. I want you to do this.” Moses’ response in Exodus 4:1 was—not great: Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” This statement is Moses’ insecurity on display. Insecurity is easier to experience than it is to understand. Most of us know what insecurity feels like. One of the places I feel insecurity is when I go to the meetings of the Gospel Coalition, a group of leaders from around the country. When I get in a room with these godly leaders—I mean these guys are so smart it’s scary. They write books so thick I can’t even understand them. When I get in a room with them, I feel this gap between who I am and who I need to be. And I feel insecure. And believe me, there are more places than that! Here’s a definition: Insecurity is the uneasy, unsettled, and fearful awareness of the gap between who I want to be and who I am. When you feel that “I’m not this; I’m not that; I’m not enough; I don’t have it,” and that anxious, uneasy, unsettled, fearful feeling—that’s it—insecurity! That was what Moses was feeling—and it’s what you will feel sometime today day if it hasn’t happened already. Today, I want you to stop and realize that God knows your insecurities as well as He knew Moses’ flaws. And just like He didn’t give up on Moses, He won’t give up on you. Let that truth settle into your heart and mind—God’s not giving up on you.— James MacDonald