SATAN’S TRAPS: INSECURITY (5 of 5)

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

HOW DO WE OVERCOME INSECURITY?

1. Acknowledge our feelings of insecurity.
     and identify the causes.
          – What is it that makes me feel insecure?
          – What circumstances cause me to feel this way?

2. Make a decision to overcome insecurity.
     (with the Lord’s help).
          – A lost person doesn’t have Christ in their life,
             so they may not be able to overcome insecurity.

          – A lost person has a lot of reasons to feel insecure
             (especially, since they have no assurance of
             anything good when it comes to death and beyond).

     – Set a goal to overcome
        (if we don’t set a goal, it may not ever happen).

     – We can’t drift from insecurity into security,
        we have to work at it.

3. Realize that dealing with this
     is more than just an area of self-esteem.
     – Recognize that the way we see ourselves
        is not necessarily the way we are.
        Example:
             We may see ourselves in a very negative
              fashion, but we may not be that way at all.

     – Ask ourselves, “Am I the way I see myself, or am I not?”

     – We can’t see ourselves the way others see us
        (we have no idea how they see us).

     – We need to ask ourselves, “How does God see me?”

4. When the negative feelings come, don’t focus on the negative
     feelings, but focus on the Holy Spirit who lives within us.
      – Ask the Holy Spirit,
         “Help me to see myself as God sees me”

     – When we switch our focus from seeing ourselves
        in our own way (along with all the mistakes we’ve made),
        and begin to see ourselves the way God sees us,
        we will begin to see ourselves in a whole new light.

     – When we ask for help from the Holy Spirit,
        He will lead us to God’s Word.
      – When we see in His Word what He says about us…
              – We will begin to think differently.

              – When we think differently,
                 we will begin to act differently.

              – When we act differently, we will begin to step
                 away from these feelings of insecurity.

5. Focus on the positive qualities in our lives.
     – We should not allow ourselves to be
        convinced that we have no positive qualities.

     – Ask someone we can trust
        to tell us something positive they see in us
        (they may mention something
        we never even thought about).

     – We should ask ourselves,
        “What good qualities do I have?”
        (ask the Lord to help us think of them; write them down).
        Example:
             – As a man, I’m pretty strong.
             – As a mom, I’m fairly organized.
             – I do care about the feelings of others.
             – I don’t show off all the time.
             – I try to eat healthy.
             – I try to look nice.
             – I pray for others (and myself).

6. Trust God for what is not, as if it were a reality.
     – Visualize ourselves in a different way
        than we normally see ourselves.
        Example:
             Job Interview.
                  Normal:
                       – Nervous.
                       – Afraid of saying the wrong thing.
                       – Lack of confidence.
                  Visualization:
                       – I’ll look my best.
                       – I’ll walk in with confidence.
                       – I’ll give them a warm handshake.
                       – I’ll sit up during the interview.
                       – I’ll look them square in the eye
                          and answer their questions.

     – Visualization is preparing and pre-planning our responses.

     – Visualizing doing the right thing, is a Godly action.
             – When we start the day with an attitude of,
                “I’m just a sinner, saved by grace”,
                we might act sinful all day long.

             – When we start the day with an attitude of,
                “I’m a saint.
                I’ll walk Godly before the Lord today”,
                then our focus on the day is much different.
                (we’ll be able to overcome some things that
                 normally bring us down…as a result,
                 we could experience some blessing from
                 the Lord that we may have been missing).
             Note:
                  If we fail at this one day,
                  then do it again the next day
                  (we should not let failure
                  cheat us out of God’s blessings).

     – When we ask for God’s help, He is there 24 hours a day.
             – We may be concerned about something, and
                have no solution…but suddenly we wake up in
                the middle of the night and the answer is there
                (where did it come from?).

             – God will help us overcome insecurity,
                if we visualize ourselves as being
                the type of person He wants us to be.

7. Stop comparing ourselves to other people.
     – There is nobody just like us.

     – Comparing ourselves to others
        is not something God wants us to do.

     – The only one we should compare ourselves to
        is Jesus (and when we do, we’ll all come up short,
        but we can be inspired to improve in some areas).

     – When we compare ourselves to Him…
             – We become more aware of areas for improvement.
             – We begin to establish goals as a process for improving.

8. Avoid the trap of blaming someone else for our insecurity.
     – Its easy to blame others,
        but when we do, we remain insecure
        (we convince ourselves
        that we have a reason for being insecure).
     Note:
          We can drive others away when we
           blame them for our feelings of insecurity.

     – Look for the positives in others,
        rather than focusing on their negatives,
        Note:
             The more you focus on their positives,
              the more you will be able to see how
              they are ‘on your side’ and want what’s
              best for you.
        Note:
             Negativity breeds and feeds more negativity.
             Consequently, positivity creates more positivity.
             Becoming a positive person is a quantum leap
             toward overcoming insecurities.

     – Avoid developing a ‘victim’ mentality.
        Something may have happened to you in the past
        which contributes to your insecurities, but you don’t
        have to continue feeding its effects on your life.
        You have to make a conscious effort to look toward
        the future with a positive attitude, and consider those
        around you has helpful friends, rather than criticizing
        adversaries intent on fueling your insecurities.

     – We need to accept the fact that we are where we are
        (even though there may have been things that
        happened and we had no control over them).

     – If we feed our insecurity, then we are responsible
        for remaining where we are. In addition, we could
        be distancing ourselves from the very ones who can
        help us in our efforts to overcome our insecurities.

     – If we stop feeding our insecurity,
        it should begin to fade away.

9. Reward yourself when you do the right things.
     Example:
          If you feel insecure about some test or task,
          but you succeed in your performance,
          reward yourself with chocolate,
          or whatever will make you feel good
          about what you have accomplished.

10. Overcome any doubts about the Word of God.
       – What did He say?
          “what shall conquer us? – nothing”
               – Not life
               – Not death
               – Not principalities
               – Not powers
               – Not things present
               – Not things to come
               – Not height
               – Not depth. etc.
     – He says, “we are overwhelmingly conquerors”

     – There is nothing in our life
        that the Lord will not bring us out of,
        and He will make us the type of person He
        wants us to be (as long as we trust Him).

     – We need to set our goal of being what God wants
        us to be…and when we do, we will begin to see
        things (and people) differently and
        we will be a different person.

     – We need to feast on His Word and what He says about us.
             – Not on how we feel.
             – Not on what other people say about us.
             – Not what others did to us.
             – Not how others overlook us.
             – Not on the things in our past
                which created (our contributed to) our insecurities
        We need to just trust the Lord.

Overcoming insecurity is not an easy process,
but a necessary one if we expect to become
a person who can enjoy life, and develop a fellowship
with the lord (and improve our relationships with others).

Can it be overcome?
Yes, with God’s help and a conscious effort on our part.