How to Find True Security and Complete Freedom from Insecurity
We have an epidemic of insecure people in our society today. Many people have an identity crisis because they don't really know who they are and they base their worth and value on all the wrong things – what they do, what they look like, who they know, what they know or what they own.
What do you think of yourself? How do you feel about yourself? Do you ever compare yourself with other people and feel belittled if you can't do what they can do or be like them? Have you ever said "I wish I looked like her" or "I wish I had what they have" or "I wish I could do what you do"?
Everyone experiences insecurity at times. I know what's it's like to feel inferior to others and insecure about myself. I grew up in a very unstable, volatile home environment and never really felt safe and secure throughout my childhood. That's why it's very important to me to feel safe and secure in my life now.
The good news is, we don't have to live insecure lives because it's God's will for us to be very secure and not to live in fear. We were created to feel safe, secure, confident and bold; it's part of our spiritual DNA as born-again believers in Christ. But the key to living a secure life in Christ is knowing who you are in Christ, really receiving God's love for you, and basing your worth and value on who God says you are, not what you do.
One thing that really helped me get a revelation about this is Isaiah 54:17: "But no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall show to be in the wrong. This [peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord…."
This scripture clearly states that as servants and children of God, it's part of our inherited, blood-bought right through our relationship with Jesus Christ to be secure. We are joint heirs with Jesus and whatever He has, we get. But we have to take it by faith, which means we believe it before we see it. And since we believe what we say about ourselves more than what others say, we each need to speak what the Bible says about us as children of God to overcome the negative, defeating opposition in the world that wants us to see ourselves compared to others, not who we are in Christ.
Another thing I needed revelation about was the love of God for me. The first message I preached in my public ministry was about God's love for us. I didn't really want to do it because I felt like it wasn't a powerful, new message and people already knew God loves them. But the Lord impressed on my heart that many people don't understand His love for them, and if they did, they would act a whole lot different than they do. They wouldn't get caught up in competition, compare themselves to others, be afraid of their mistakes or afraid of admitting weaknesses if they were secure in God's love.
First John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love…but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror!"
This opened my eyes to the fact that I was one of those people. So for the next year, I focused my Bible study on the love of God, and during that time, I received my own personal revelation of God's unconditional love for me and acceptance of me.
Getting a revelation of God's unconditional love helped me understand that my worth and value are based on the fact that I'm a child of God, not on what I do. This is so important because if we believe God loves us based on what we do or how well we perform, we will never be truly secure and stable in our relationship with Him.
I've had to remind myself at times that I am not Joyce Meyer Ministries. I am more than this ministry. And if a time comes when God asks me not to do this ministry anymore, I will be just as important and valuable to Him then as I am right now.
The same thing is true for you. No matter what you do for a living, whether you're single or married, have children or not, you're well educated, rich or poor, you are just as important to God as everyone else. We are all equally valuable to God.
God is love. And He really loves you! I pray that you will experience God's love for yourself every day of your life. Then you can have the life of peace, joy and true security that He's planned for you.