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Pointers along the way #584

Practical security in Christ
- Jacob Ninan

What are some of the signs of insecurity? At the spiritual level, to be afraid of God, not being sure of His love, not being sure if we have been forgiven or where we will be after we die, etc. In our behaviour, we may be withdrawing from people and situations because of a lack of self confidence, protecting ourselves from mistakes by not taking risks or by avoiding the limelight, projecting ourselves aggressively in order to get attention, not able to look at own faults but deflecting criticism to others, constantly finding fault with others, bullying others, etc. This insecurity will also affect every part of our life including relationships and work.

Even though psychologists try to help by directing people to look positively at themselves, that is not enough to help them at the root level. Insecurity is one of the things that Adam and Eve experienced when they got disconnected from God, and we are born with it. This may also have got aggravated due to experiences of rejection especially during the growing years. The solution is to experience the largeness of God's love for us.

Receiving forgiveness of sins is a big step of healing when we come to Jesus. But in order to let the healing reach down into the deepest parts of our mind which has been conditioned to insecurity for years, we need the Holy Spirit to minister the word of God to us.

We need to be convinced of the fact that God loves us, unconditionally and forever (Je.31:3). This is not because we somehow deserve it or because our good deeds are more than the bad. God loves us because He is love. Grace means that God's love is something that He extends to us purely out of the goodness of His heart and not at all based on our deserving it. He created us, and He knows all about our past, our present struggles and failures, and also that as long as we live here we will continue to be imperfect (Ro.5:8). He has promised to never leave or forsake us (He.13:5). Knowing this should drive away our fear and uncertainty about God and help us to find security because we are His children.

Another thing that helps us to be secure is the knowledge that God has created us as unique persons who cannot be compared with anyone else. The package of abilities and talents we have been given and the circumstances and experiences we have faced in our life make us unlike anyone else in this world! Since we know that God is the one who decided the details of our birth and who was in overall control of everything we have gone through (Ro.8:28), we can be sure there is something unique which He wants us to do for Him and others. We can stop comparing ourselves with others and feeling bad.

When we find ourselves secure in God's goodness and love towards us, one thing we should do is to forgive and let go of everyone who has hurt us (Co.3:13). This will liberate our minds from so much of bitterness and tension, and allow the Holy Spirit to have more freedom with us.

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