Voices
Underlying Insecurity
February 21st: Panel Sunday
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Today, I want to talk to us about an internal Voice that not only stifles our progress but threatens our relationships. Today I want to talk about – Underlying Insecurity!
One of the loudest voices we will ever hear in our lives is a critical inner voice that no one hears but us. It’s called Insecurity! It is a voice that frequents the minds of the most successful people just as much as it does the challenged. CEO’s suffer from it. World leaders and Presidents suffer from it. Beauty queens and Broadway stars suffer from it. World-class athletes, doctors, lawyers, actors, musicians, and even ministers suffer from it. Insecurity is not an emotion or a voice that is reserved for the “have nots” or the “overlooked” in society. It finds, feeds and favors us all, young and old, short and tall. And every time it speaks, it sets in motion emotions that leave us spinning!
An insecurity victim once said – “Confidence is silent, while Insecurity is loud.”
Another person said – “Insecurity kills all that is beautiful.”
The great preacher Beth Moore – “Jealousy takes root in the soil of insecurity.”
A wise person said – “Nourished insecurity leads to poisoned relationships.”
One of my personal favorites – “Urgency is insecurity!”
Insecurity – is defined as uncertainty about oneself; a lack of confidence.
Although insecurity has a singular definition, it manifests itself in a variety of different ways. Insecurity appears in some as ambition, overwork, and perfectionism, believing that we’re only as good as your last success. In others, insecurity swings to the opposite side of the spectrum manifesting in disconnection, timidity, and silence. But regardless of which side you fall on, what lies at the root of almost all of our insecurities is a plaguing fear that psychiatrists call “Imposter Syndrome”. While to some degree we are all actors on the stage of life, insecurity convinces us that we are inadequate imposters who must overwork or play it safe to avoid being found out as the fraud we are!
Truth – There is nothing that holds us back in life more than our insecurities!
We are confined only by the walls that our insecurities create!
Most of us feel insecure sometimes, but many of us feel insecure all of the time! What causes our insecurities? The kind of childhood we’ve had, past traumas we’ve experienced, failures or rejections, loneliness, social anxiety, perfectionism, or having a critical parent or partner contribute to insecurity. But it’s the sum of these experiences that stimulate an internal dialogue counselors to call the “Critical Inner Voice!” As we grow up in a sinful world, we adopt destructive thoughts towards ourselves and others!
We are often called the narcissistic generation! We are told that technology and social media are giving us an inflated sense of self. But the truth is, most of us don’t walk around feeling like we are all that great. In fact, the one underlying emotion that overwhelmingly shapes our self-image and influences our behavior is insecurity. If you could enter the minds of people around you, even the narcissistic ones, you are likely to encounter endless waves of insecurity. A recent survey found that nearly 60 percent of men and women experience hurtful, self-critical thoughts on a weekly basis.
We don’t have to hide or deny our insecurity because God has a BIG, answer for it. The Bible is full of “Thus saith the Lord’s” that are designed to silence our insecurity!
Isaiah 43:1-3
1 But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. (ESV)
2 Peter 2:9
9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, (ESV)
Psalm 23:1-6
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (ESV)
Philippians 4:9
9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (ESV)
Sons and daughters of the King should be the most secure people on the planet!
According to the world, security is based upon possessions – Titles, toys, and treasure! According to God’s word, security is based upon position – Faith, forgiveness, and fruit!
Security is found in the will of our creator, not in collecting his created things!
Steven Furtick – “When you attach security to stuff, it’s never enough!”
Matthew 25:14-29
14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. (ESV)
The first use of the word “talent” referred to units of weight. At the time of Jesus, when this parable was shared, talent referred to coinage. A talent today is a gift or ability!
In this story, we see this wealthy businessman hand 3 servants’ bags filled with what theologians believe was gold. He gave one 5 bags, another 2 bags, and the last 1 bag.
The servant who was given 5 bags of gold quickly invested it, and doubled his money.
The servant with the two bags did the same, but the servant with only 1 hid him away!
The common conclusion is that since he had less than the other two, he probably felt inferior to the others, so he held back instead of jumping in with something he had!
Life’s not about what you handed, it’s about what you do with what you handed!
The devil always wants to downplay the deposit God has given you!
The truth is, nobody is bankrupt in the kingdom of God. He’s given all of us a bag!
Insecurity causes us to bury what God’s been calling us to build!
Insecurity causes us to be – Defensive about what we’ve been handed!
– Ungrateful for what we’ve been handed!
– Disobedient with what we’ve been handed!
The Greek used for “servant” in this parable is douloi, which describes “a bondslave who is bound to do what he is told to do, regardless of what he thinks or feels about it.”
We are stewards of what we’ve been given, and we cannot allow insecurity to steal it!
Some of us have buried things we should have been building, and it’s time to dig em up!
Need Prayer?
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