12.08.21
Hi Friends,
By now, I hope that you’re starting to see why I don’t think it’s ok to allow insecurity to become a driving force in our lives… as it has done in our culture. My take on this is that overcoming insecurity is not just something we strive for to feel better about ourselves or because we’re chasing happiness and haven’t caught it yet. It’s way bigger than that.
Last week I said that the number one reason why overcoming insecurity is so important is because God has an important purpose for your life and insecurity will cause you to forfeit that purpose. Not long after David becomes a national hero, King Saul becomes consumed and blinded by his own jealousy, fear, and doubt. From Saul’s life, we can get a clear picture of the high cost of insecurity.
Today, let’s flash forward in the story. Saul has been hunting David for about four years. He heard that David was hiding in the wilderness, so he gathered 3000 of his elite soldiers to go after him. Remember, King Saul thinks David is his greatest enemy, but the truth is about to be revealed!
On this day, David and his men were hiding in a cave, when low and behold, none other than King Saul himself walks into the cave to relieve himself. David’s men are thinking, this is the greatest day ever! They tell David, “God has delivered Saul into your hands. Go now and eliminate the problem so that we can all go home, and you can be the king.” You have to admit, that sounds like a logical solution in this situation. But here’s what happened next!
1 Samuel 24:4-10 – 4 So David crept forward and cut off a piece of the hem of Saul’s robe. 6 He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this to my lord the king. I shouldn’t attack the LORD’s anointed one, for the LORD himself has chosen him.” 7 So David restrained his men and did not let them kill Saul. After Saul had left the cave and gone on his way, 8 David came out and shouted after him, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked around, David bowed low before him. 9 Then he shouted to Saul, “Why do you listen to the people who say I am trying to harm you? 10 This very day you can see with your own eyes it isn’t true. (NLT, italics mine)
Then David stepped forward and held up the piece he had cut from Saul’s robe!
1 Samuel 24:16-17 - 16 When David had finished speaking, Saul called back, “Is that really you, my son David?” Then he began to cry. 17 And he said to David, “You are a better man than I am, for you have repaid me good for evil. (NLT)
Let me ask you this: What would you have done? What would your associates have told you to do? What would the culture around you have influenced you to do?
David could have easily eliminated the biggest problem in his life in an instant. But he made a different choice. Why? Because David was not like Saul. David was not driven by insecurity (jealousy, fear, and doubt). David was driven by something greater!
If you want to know David’s Secret to Defeating Insecurity, here it is:
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David did not use comparison to determine his value or capability.
Even as a teenage boy, he knew he could not face Goliath wearing Saul’s armor. He did not walk away feeling inferior because he was not using Saul as a standard of comparison. There is no place in his story where David measured himself against Saul or anyone else to determine his own value or capability.
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David trusted God’s character, which enabled him to trust God’s will and timing.
David was just a shepherd boy when the prophet Samuel called for him to come in from the field. Suddenly, he is being anointed as the next king of Israel. Please get this: David never questioned his anointing. Nor is he controlled by fear or self-doubt. If God gives you a valuable purpose, it means He sees you as valuable. His trust in God’s character enabled him to trust in God’s timing in becoming the next king. In that moment, even Saul could see it.
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David saw adversity as a test not as punishment or personal failure.
Over time, David began to see that God was using adversity to grow him stronger. Why? To grow his inner strength. Why? So that God could use him to do greater things.
I’m going to stop right here for today and offer a few questions to consider:
- What role does comparison play in the way you measure your value or capability?
- Where are you at in your trust of God’s character and your sense of purpose?
- How have you historically viewed adversity? How do you view it today?
Next week, I am going to give you some practical steps to take to defeat and keep on defeating insecurity. I want to be more like David and less like Saul! How about you?
You can contact me at tim@peopleprosper.org. I always enjoy hearing from you. Please don’t hesitate to let me know how I can be praying for you. Until next time…
May God Bless You and Keep You,
Tim Hargrove