SATAN’S TRAPS: INSECURITY (4 of 5)

Satan’s trap of “Insecurity” (4 of 5).

EFFECTS OF INSECURITY

1. A difficult time establishing good and lasting relationships.
    – “I wouldn’t make a very good friend”

    – “I don’t think I can be a good friend”

     – Sometimes our expectation of ourselves
        is based on what we think others expect
        (that may not be true;
        our expectations could be way too high).

     – We may think someone expects us to have the gift of gab,
        when all they really want is a sincere friend they can confide in.

     – We may think someone expects us to be a leader,
        when all they want is someone to encourage and support them.

     – Sometimes our insecurities hinder relationships
        because we don’t want to get too close
        (“They might find out who I really am
        and then they wouldn’t like me”).

     – Relationships:
            – All of us need strong, godly relationships.
            – Men need friendships with other men.
            – Women need friendships with other women.
            – Friends need godly relationships with each other.
            – All of us need relationships with our heavenly Father.

2. Being perceived as snobbish and prideful.
     – If we don’t feel good about ourselves,
        then we don’t want others to get too close to us
        (we don’t want them to see us in the way
        we perceive ourselves to be – a loser).

     – As a result, we tend to recoil from others.
             – We don’t participate in the things they do.
             – We don’t enjoy the fun they have.
             – As a result, they begin to think
                we are just being snobs, or egotistical
                (we come across like we are too good for them).

3. Indecisiveness.
     – “What if I do the wrong thing?”
     – “What if I fail?”
     – “What if I make the wrong decision
         and people laugh at me?”
     – “I may embarrass myself”
     – “If any of these happen, I’ll just feel worse about myself”

     – These types of thoughts
        inhibit our chances of succeeding at anything.

     – These thoughts inhibit our chances
        of breaking free from our insecurities.

     – If we don’t make a decision to do (or try) something,
        then we kill our chances of being successful.

4. Fear of failure.
     – This prevents us from enjoying the goodness, love,
        and kindness of God (because of our fear of failure).

     – We won’t take a risk of trying something God wants
        us to do, so we miss out on the blessings He has for
        us (the blessings that are a part of the task).

     – If we trust the Lord, we can afford to take a risk
        …He is there to strengthen us and help us
        (He doesn’t want us to feel insecure and inadequate).

     – Fear of failure limits what God can do in our life.
        Example:
        God calls someone to teach or preach,
        but they refuse because they are afraid
        they will say the wrong thing
        (if we speak in front of people very often,
        we probably will say the wrong thing at
         times, but that should not discourage us).
        If God called us,
        its because He knows He can use us
        (we’ll say enough of the right things
        (at the right time) that we can
        have an impact on the lives of others).

     – God may have a three or step plan for our life
        …the first step is used to mature us for the second step, etc.
        If we refuse because of our fears, then
        we don’t get a chance to mature and experience success.

     – We allow all these thoughts of failure to control us
        (say the wrong thing; get laughed at;
        embarrass ourselves; etc.)
        and we end up seeing ourselves as failures.
        Note:
             In school, we have taken tests
             and didn’t get ALL the answers right,
             but we still passed to the next grade.
                  – we didn’t fail, and we weren’t a failure.

5. Anger.
     – We get frustrated over our insecurity;
        we get mad and want to start blaming someone else.

     – We find things to criticize others about…why?
        We want to bring them down to our level…why?
              – So we’ll feel a little better about ourselves.

     – If someone does something better than us,
        then we should be trying to find out why.
        …what can we learn from them
        that will help us to do it better?

     – We may not get to their level, but we can improve,
        and we can become the best we can be.

6. Passed over for promotions and honors
     – The way we act and the message we send is
        …I’m inadequate.

     – A manager will not promote someone who has
        sent them a message that they can’t handle
        additional responsibilities.

     – When we convince a manager that we are a failure,
        the manager knows that we will fail if he promotes us
        (our failure could be crucial
        to the manager’s career, or to the company).

7. Problems meeting others and developing relationships.
     – We can miss out on relationships with people
        who could impact our life for good
        (or who we could impact their life for good).

     – The other person may be able to teach us something,
        or to encourage us in a way that no one else can
        (which could help us mature as a believer).

     – Sometimes we avoid meeting someone because
        we feel we don’t measure up to who they are.
     – Truth is, we should not compare ourselves to others
        (especially since we only see what’s on the surface).

8. Believing that success is based on the approval of others.
     – If we do what God wants us to do;
        if we achieve what He wants us to achieve
        …in His eyes we are a success.
        (He doesn’t compare us to others)

     – The world defines success as those who are
        ‘out front’, on stage, make lots of money,
        are presidents, outstanding speakers, CEOs, etc.
        (that’s not how God defines success).

     – We need to:
             – Discover God’s will for our life.
             – Walk in His ways.
             – Obey Him.
             – Accomplish what He wants us to accomplish.
             – Become the person He wants us to become.

     – Our success is not based on the approval of others.
             – When we realize (and accept) this, it takes
                 a lot of pressure off our day to day lives.

9. Do our best to hide our insecurity.
     – People who have to do all the talking, can be very insecure.
     – People who have to have center stage, can be very insecure.
     – People who brag about, and name all the people they know,
        can be very insecure.

     – People who act proud, can be very insecure.
             – They can be dogmatic about what they believe.
             – They can be controllers
                (when they are in control, they feel less insecure).

     – All of these actions can be an attempt to hide insecurity.

When we see that some of these are a part of our life,
then we may be experiencing insecurities
(if we don’t think we are,
then we need to ask ourselves why we do these things).

Look at how some lost people act around a group of believers:
     – Loud.
     – Expressing strong opinions.
     – Dominating conversations.
     Why?
          – They may be insecure in the fact that
             they do not have a relationship with the Lord.
          – We know someone they don’t know.
          – We know some things they don’t know.
          – We have a peace they don’t have.
          – We have a security they don’t have.
          – We have a sense of joy and contentment they don’t have
              and as a result, they feel very insecure.

As believers, we need to be sensitive to their feelings,
and the reason they have them.

When we can do this, we can become better witnesses.
We can tell them what He has given us,
and remind them that they can have it too.