I’m a portrait photographer. I have been for 37 years. (Yikes!) I have to admit that even now before every photo session I feel nervous. The old insecurity lizard whispers in my ear, “What if you can’t get the children to cooperate? What if you blow your camera or light settings? What if you can’t control the rambunctious kids and they break your equipment? What if you didn’t prepare your clients well and they show up in bold stripes and loud patterns? What if your body isn’t strong enough to do what this session demands?”
But I’m on to him. I don’t need to listen to those insecurities. I pray about each photo session. I have the enabling power of God to help me serve my clients with love. I remember that I’m giving them a precious treasure they’ll enjoy the rest of their lives. I’m going to listen carefully to their words and expressions so I can lavish them with appropriate care. When doubts come flooding in, I remind myself how much I enjoy serving and loving others.
I’ve realized that insecurities are another word for fear. Our insecurities rob us. They keep us from becoming who we were meant to be and doing what we were meant to do. When you stop to think about it, insecurity is myopically self-centered. It’s all about how I feel, and what I can do. Not only is it self-centered, but our insecurity is rooted in pride. We don’t want to fail and hurt our image.
Faith, on the other hand, is another word for trust. We trust that God is with us and will help us. It dispels our insecurities because trust is God-centered, not self-centered. And it frees us to be others-centered. We trust that God will give us the strength and skill to serve others. It replaces pride with humility that confesses that we’re not enough until God makes us enough. We can release the pride that has to maintain that image. Humility allows us to fail and get up and try again. Humility makes us transparent and honest which tears off the mask that separates us from others. And trusting God throws open the door to personal growth and new opportunities. We’re no longer shackled by fearful insecurities. We’re free to run forward into all that God has for us.
I was wondering the other day if there are stories in the Bible about insecure people. Oh, yes, many! The first one that came to mind was the superhero, Gideon. He was a real-life superhero who defeated an oppressive enemy army of 135,000 well-fed, well-equipped troops with 300 men who were undernourished and ill-equipped. Here’s the beginning of the story as we find it in Judges, a book in the Old Testament, chapter six.
~God hears humble and desperate prayers.
“Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help. When they cried out to the Lord because of Midian (their oppressors), the Lord sent a prophet to the Israelites.“
~God wants our hearts. God prepares his people for forward movement by telling them what they’re doing wrong so they can fix it.
“… the Lord sent a prophet to the Israelites. He said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of slavery in Egypt. I rescued you from the Egyptians and from all who oppressed you. I drove out your enemies and gave you their land. I told you, ‘I am the Lord your God. You must not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you now live.’ But you have not listened to me.”
~God comes near. He responds to our needs, the greatest of which is our need for him.
“Then the angel of the Lord came . . . The angel of the Lord appeared to him (Gideon).”
~God sees us as the person he intends us to be. He doesn’t look at us as we are now – weak and fearful. He looks at us as he is going to make us- strong and trusting. Gideon had done nothing that marked him as hero material. Actually, he was acting like a scared victim when the angel of the Lord came to him. He didn’t even have strong trust in God.
“The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘Mighty hero, the Lord is with you.’”
~God patiently listens to our doubts and fears. Gideon was disillusioned with God. It sure didn’t feel like God was with him. God hadn’t shown up to help him out of this mess. Gideon felt free to voice his doubts and we should, too.
“if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.”
~God tells us to do scary things. We must move forward in faith with what we have. We can’t wait until we feel prepared.
“Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”
But Gideon didn’t feel competent. He didn’t feel equal to the task. Small me-big job. Who am I to do this? How am I going to do this? He had insecurities about his ability and his status just like we do.
“But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!”
~God gives us promises. I am on your side. The problem is small in comparison to me. I, myself, will intervene. I will supernaturally enable you.
“The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”
~God patiently reassures us. Gideon needed reassurance over and over and God patiently gave it. So do we.
“Gideon replied, “If you are truly going to help me, show me a sign to prove that it is really the Lord speaking to me. Don’t go away until I come back and bring my offering to you.”
He answered, “I will stay here until you return.”
“Oh, Sovereign Lord, I’m doomed! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”
“It is all right,” the Lord replied. “Do not be afraid. You will not die.” And Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and named it Yahweh-Shalom (which means “the Lord is peace”).
Another time we’ll look at the rest of the story of his battles and his victory in spite of overwhelming odds. There’s so much treasure in it, I couldn’t fit it all in one article.
But in this first part of the story we see that:
God answers humble and desperate prayers.
God wants our hearts.
God comes near to us.
God sees us as the person he intends us to become.
God patiently listens to our doubts and fears.
God gives us promises.
God reassures us personally.
What insecurities do you need to replace with trust in God?