I am indebted for this post to my brother-in-law Kirby–young husband, father, minister–who preached a thought-provoking message Sunday morning. This post is based on that message.
What is security? The state of being free from danger or threat. We all covet this position.
Insecurity? Being open to danger and vulnerable. To avoid this position, many of us spend a lifetime building walls and installing locks. But in our scramble for security, there are ten factors we should consider.
The 5 Emotional Factors:
What drives you? We are all driven by underlying emotions or needs. Are you driven by one of the following?
1. Guilt
Genesis 4 tells us the story of Cain, the murderer, who was cursed to a life of loneliness and wandering, “a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth.” Restless, unsettled, without purpose, driven by the past. This is what guilt did to Cain, and it is what guilt does to us.
Genesis says that Cain “went out from the presence of the Lord.” Guilt, as it did for Cain, disconnects us from God. And since God is the only thing on earth that is really secure, when we are disconnected from Him, we automatically grow insecure.
The solution to guilt: Remember that we are products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners. God’s purposes are not limited by our past. Think of Moses, the murderer who became a great leader, or Gideon, the coward who became a hero. Psalm 32:1 says, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”
2. Resentment and anger
Resentment and anger happen when, instead of releasing pain, we rehearse it over and over and over.
Resentment hurts us more than it hurts the people we resent. Those who have hurt us cannot continue to hurt us unless we hold onto the pain.
Like guilt, resentment and anger distance us from God and the only true security we have on this earth. They are heavy things to carry, and while we can carry them many places, there is one place they won’t go: into heaven and the presence of God.
The solution to resentment: Release. And release. And release. Seventy times seven times in a day, Jesus told Peter. That’s 490 times during twenty-four hours, or once every three minutes.
3. Fear
Fear may become a part of us because of a traumatic situation, growing up with unrealistic expectations or in a highly controlled environment, or it may simply be a part of our genetic makeup. Fear-driven people often miss great opportunities because they’re afraid to venture out. In struggling to create our own security, we become even more insecure.
Fear is a self-imposed prison that limits God.
The solution to fear: 1 John 4:18 – “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”
Romans 8:15 – “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”
With God’s help and the knowledge of His love, we can overcome fear.
4. The Need for Approval
While the need for approval is natural and necessary to a degree, often people will allow the expectations of others to control their life. Sometimes we find adults still trying to earn the approval of hard-to-please parents. Or adults who worry about what their peers think and work to impress them. This leads to feelings of insecurity about who we are and where we are in life.
The sad facts: no matter how hard you try you can never please everybody.
The solution to the need for approval: Why not start looking into your life at what meets God’s approval? He is a kind and forgiving taskmaster, never exacting or punitive and always ready to lend a hand. True feelings of security come when we please an everlasting God, not when we please a fickle humanity.
5. Materialism
The drive to want more is based on the misconception that the more we have, the more happy, important, and secure we will be.
In reality, materialism often works in the opposite direction. The more we have, the more insecure we become, because the more we worry about losing what we have.
Wealth is anything but secure; it can be lost in an instant.
The solution to materialism: Stop and assess what you are working for and why. If it’s material prosperity or career success, you are sweating up a dead-end street.
The 4 Physical Factors:
In addition to emotional needs and desires, there are physical needs that affect our feelings of security.
1. The Big Three – Job, Money, a Place to Live
Jobs come and go. Money is never guaranteed. Our security is swayed by landlords, mortgage payments, and natural disasters.
Real security: It comes from God, and the only job security is serving Him.
2. Government
Many people worry about the government, and they have reason. Government is imperfect and never a secure system.
Real security: Romans 13:1 says, “There is no power but of God; the powers that be are ordained of God.” If we believe that, it will do wonders for our sense of security.
3. Health
It is one of the biggest money drains in America, and yet there is nothing we can do to earn or buy it. Yes, we can take care of our bodies; and yes, we can spend millions to repair broken parts; but no, we absolutely cannot beg, borrow, or steal a guarantee of good health.
Real security: Our only option is to leave our health with God. Is it secure with Him? Yes.
4. The Planet
Global warming. Overpopulation. So many things that could go wrong.
Real security: In Genesis 8:22, God promises: “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” As children of God, we can place confidence in that.
The Ultimate GOD Factor:
I’ve been talking about the security that comes from God throughout this post, and I will sum it up by saying that the earth–every circumstance, every person, every tree on it is his.
It’s as simple as that.
Rest assured, He knows how to take care of what is His.
In John 10:27-29, Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”
Now that is security.
AMEN!!!