Insecurities are everywhere. They rear their ugly head when we struggle to perfect our makeup, when we can't bear to look at ourselves in the mirror, when we never feel that we're good enough, when we settle for less than what we deserve, and when we become depressed with our shortcomings. In a world that is so scrutinous, so perfection-based, so self-focused, we are constantly reminded of what we aren't and what we will never be.
Insecurities come in many shapes and sizes. They come in believing lies about ourselves, they come in putting others down, they come in the choices we choose to make, and they come in the paths we decide to take. Yet why is it so hard to push them away? To remind ourselves we are loved and adored?
Insecurities are a cyclical process. Someone points out a "shortcoming" in your life, you feel terrible about youself, to feel better about yourself you put someone else down, and thus the cycle continues. It's a terrible and awful way to go about life, but if we're honest, every one of us has engaged in this cycle in one way or another.
Yet how do we move past this? While the answer stares us in the face, don't continue the cycle, it is something that is so much easier said than done. Words hurt! And as people, as individuals living on this place called earth, it is our natural instinct to cover up our pain and refocus the attention on someone else. So how do we move past that? How do we believe the words that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" over the words that we are "ugly" and "not good enough" and "not worth anything?"
To come to the place where we believe the words of our loving, heavenly father, we have to trust that He is all that He says He is. Because if He is all that He says He is, than his love will be enough. His words of affirmation, comfort, solace, admiration, and loving will be enough. His grace will be sufficient and our hearts will be healed.
Insecurities do not come with a 5-step-plan of defeat and they will not leave without a fight. They can however be defeated, we just have to be willing to take the steps to obliterate them from our lives.
Crushing the cycle of insecurities starts will us. Not with our neightbors, our friends, our husbands, our wives, our children, our parents, our boss, or our enemies. It starts with us making the conscious decision to live life with the full understanding of all that we are and all that we can be. Moving past insecurities requires relinquishing the past and giving our present and our future to God. Insecurities will not be gone overnight and they will linger and morph and disguise themselves in different forms. But our decision to fight against them will hold strong and God's promise to help us overcome them will last decades.
My Friends "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place." (Ephesians 6:10-14)
