Insecurity of Man VS Security In God
Have you ever felt not good enough, not smart enough, not pretty enough, and not strong enough to achieve your dreams? This is a very common issue in our society. We compare ourselves to others based on our looks, our appearance, our education, our job, our relationship, and our faith with others. Insecurity means not being sure of ourselves, having self-doubt, lack self-confidence.
This may feel like:
Losing confidence and becoming jealous when someone else does better on a test or project,
If we say or do something different from others, wondering if they may make fun of us,
Being afraid of getting judged based on looks, height, background or never finding someone to marry when waiting for a life partner,
Finding fault in oneself when a best friend spends more time with a new friend,
Comparing others’ blessings to your own and wondering why they’ve been blessed more.
We all would’ve faced this at some point in our lives. When left unaddressed or unhealed, insecurity spirals into jealousy, possessiveness, greed, comparison and can ultimately destroy a person.
The bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse and corrupt. Who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9. A deceitful heart can be our demise. We see it become reality in the life of Saul.
FIRST KING OF ISRAEL
Saul, who was anointed by prophet Samuel, was the first-ever king of Israel for until then, Israelites were led by judges. Saul was tall, handsome, humble, and intelligent. Therefore, everyone was pleased to have him as king (1 Samuel 9).
RISE AND FALL OF SAUL
When Saul was king, the Israelites were threatened by the ammonites, but under Saul’s leadership, the Israelites defeated the Ammonites (1 Samuel 11: 11).
Impatience
It was God’s law that only priests and prophets should offer sacrifices to the Lord. Once during Saul’s reign, the Philistines waged war against the Israelites. Samuel – the prophet had asked Saul to wait till he comes to offer the sacrifice in a manner of supplication before going into battle. However, the prophet Samuel did not come even after waiting for seven days and Saul was anxious that Israel would lose the war and offered the sacrifice in haste. This was a great offense in the Lord’s sight and therefore God spoke through Samuel saying
“You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, He would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler of His people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” (1 Samuel 13:13-14)
Oof! I would not want to get on God’s bad side. Imagine God being angry with you because you didn’t follow His command. God’s wrath is dangerous and would lead your life to destruction. He values those who obey Him and keep His command. As a result of insecurity, many times we do things which you should not and end up facing unpleasant consequences. Let’s see what Saul had to face next.
Disobedience
The Amalekites waylaid the Israelites when they came up from Egypt. Therefore, the Lord wanted to punish them for the distress they caused His children – the Israelites. God wanted to give Saul another chance and commanded him to completely destroy everything that belonged to them, but Saul disobeyed – once again. The man really hasn’t learned from his past.
Saul and his army spared the king of the Amalekites and kept for themselves everything that was best of the sheep, calves and lambs. This very much grieved God and He said “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from Me and has not carried out My instructions.” Samuel reprimanded him, “You have rejected the word of the Lord and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!” Following which, the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.
The God is a gentleman. He would never forcefully stay when we push Him away. Our insecurities and agenda push Him away. It’s better to follow His way to victory with Him by our side than to follow our fleshly way to destruction and be alone.
Intersection
When Saul was being tormented by the evil spirit, he told his servants, “Find me a good musician and bring him to me.” Saul’s servants brought David to Saul. David - The man God had anointed to be the next king of Israel.
Saul loved him greatly because every time David played his harp, the evil spirits would leave him and he felt so much peace. Saul later made David his armor-bearer. Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was very successful and earned a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops and Saul’s officers as well. Not only was David well-liked but was also promoted.
Thousands versus Ten Thousands
During the course of time, the Philistines came into battle against the Israelites. They sent out their giant Goliath and challenged Israel for a one-on-one fight. The army of Israel was dismayed and greatly afraid. David had come to the battlefield and saw Goliath defying the God of the armies of Israel and became very furious. David volunteered to face Goliath one-on-one. Saul gave him his armor, but David said that he would go without the armor. David went to fight with Goliath taking his shepherd’s staff, five smooth stones in his shepherd's bag, and his sling. God gave David victory with the slingshot of a single stone. Israelites celebrated David’s massive victory with a song saying “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” This angered Saul to the point that he felt threatened by David and from that moment on tried his best to kill David. However, it never materialized because God was with David.
Once again, the Philistines fought against Israel on Mount Gilboa and the Israelites fled before them. The Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and his sons and killed his sons. As the battle became fierce Saul was fatally wounded by the archers and told one of his army men to slay him so that he would not be killed by the Philistines. The terrified soldier did not do it, so Saul planted his own sword on the ground, fell on it, and met his pathetic end. This is what insecurity does to a person. All because he wanted validation from people that he was greater than David.
A MAN AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART
David communicated everything with God and gained God’s favor. Secure in God, David was the stark contrast to Saul. He was in constant touch with God and found his security in Him. He did everything only if God approved of it. Therefore, David reigned victoriously.
“David continued to be successful in all his activities because the Lord was with him.”
When you trust God and look to Him for your every activity, God makes you victorious. Yes, He makes you realize your true worth and you do not expect appreciation from men. You are able to give all the glory to God for every achievement in your life. With God as your guide and counselor, you become confident and your insecurities fly away. This is what the Bible says,
“He Who lives in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
God becomes your greatest strength, knowing that your reward and validation are from Him. Go on and be confident! God is your strength, guide, and friend.