Spiritual Warfare #16 & Prayer Walk #3

Chapter Five, The Landmine of Insecurity by Charles Stanley
[Talking about Moses call to lead the people out of Egypt, the burning bush]
God's command to Moses required both courage and devotion. He was facing a lifestyle change that also would alter the way he felt about himself and especially the way he viewed God. It was a defining moment of extreme proportions, and like many of us, Moses immediately felt unequal to the task. He wavered in doubt and looked for a way to sidestep the call.

Moses was right: he was not equal to the task! This fact did not change God's plan for his life, however. Most of the challenges we face require faith in an infinite, all-powerful God. Regardless of the task, if we are convinced that we cannot succeed, we won't. On the other hand, if we trust the sovereignty and strength of God at work in our lives, we will succeed.

Exposing the Truth About Insecurity

[Talking about Moses discovering he was a Hebrew and couldn't go back to where he was brought up, but also feeling he wasn't equipped for the task God was asking him to do.]
Have you ever felt this way? You know the Lord has led you to a certain point. He has placed you in a position that requires more of you than you believe you can do. Insecurity is not a struggle like jealousy, envy, or pride. It may not sound explosive, but it is. The landmine of insecurity is both dangerous and destructive. To a person with a sense of insecurity, everything within her life seems unstable and unreliable.

God knows our limitations and usually will place us in situations that stretch our faith beyond what we think we can bear. He wants to develop our faith. In order to do this, faith must be tested. This means placing us in situations where we must come face-to-face with our insecurities and where we choose to trust God with the situation.

You may think, I can't do anything well, but from God's perspective, you are a person of notable excellence. You can do all things through Christ (Phil. 4:13). Moses went from being a shepherd to the leader of the Exodus. That was quite a shift in roles, and God just may do a similar work in your life, but first you must be willing to trust and obey Him.

Take the Right Steps to Avoid Insecurity

First, you need to remember that Satan will stop at nothing to lay landmines of insecurity within your life. He knows God has a plan for you. Satan also is aware of your potential because of the presence of God's Spirit. Therefore, he enjoys setting little explosions of insecurity throughout your life with the hope of them turning into a blaze of discouragement and hopelessness. You can detect and defuse his enticements.

However, it is one thing to feel insecure about a particular situation and another thing to grow up with insecurity and have it programmed into your thinking every day. Satan's intent with insecurity is to leave us feeling disappointed and more like failures than conquerors, but we must remember that we are more than conquerors through Christ (Rom. 8:37).

Isn't that great stuff? I love it! Tomorrow we'll look at the root causes of insecurity. I think this chapter goes along with what we've been learning this last year about God calling us to do something great and we don't even know if we can. BUT WE CAN! Stay tuned, more to come!

On a more personal note, Greg and I are going on a prayer walk this afternoon on the west side again. We'll pray for the neighborhood and the school, and then we're stopping by some old friends of Greg's for me to meet.

Have a blessed Easter. As the Christians of long ago would say to greet others and see if they were also Christians, "He is risen" and "He is risen indeed!"