Insecurities

This spring I participated in a women's bible study. We did a Beth Moore book called So Long Insecurities, and I highly recommend it!!  It is a long book, but Beth Moore is so witty that it was easy to get caught up in her stories and humor and not realize how many chapters I had read.  As we all started the book, we knew it would be hard to face our insecurities and even harder to make steps toward getting rid of them, but we all knew a life without insecurity sounded great, despite the hard work that God might ask from us. 

This book was a well rounded book that talked about women's insecurities that we grow up "learning" through culture or family life, insecurities that we allow ourselves to believe from ourselves, men and even from other women.  One point that she really hammered home is that our security is found in Christ and no one else has the power to take that from you.  She used Proverbs 31:25  "She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come." many times throughout the book and it consumed my thoughts throughout the months while I was reading the book.  I realized quickly that most of my anger, jealousy, and even sadness could be linked back to an insecurity.  Once I realized that, I was diligent to remind myself that I am clothed in strength and dignity and just that simple refocus of my thoughts usually put things back into perspective. 

One part of the book that saddened me the most was the insecurities that we feel from other women.  In some cases the women around us unintentionally make us feel insecure by their dress, career, status or body type.  In these cases, it's our own issue and that insecurity should be dealt with internally and with God.  In other cases, the women around us are intentional in making other women feel insecure, which breaks my heart that women aren't sticking together to build each other up!  In one of our weekly discussions, we were talking about this topic and someone shared this wise truth..."hurt people hurt people".    This statement stuck with me and I found myself thinking back to times when I have been hurt by other women and this seems to always be the case.  It changed my thoughts from anger to pity for them and what they have been through to make them act in such a way.  It also made me think of times that I have lashed out because I was feeling hurt. 

The majority of the book was very empowering and  had great scripture to commit to memory so that when the feeling of insecurity creeps back up, the Word of God is there to silence it.  For me, it's been a daily struggle of remembering who I am in Christ and not letting my own lies or the lies of others overpower the truth that I am His and my security is found only in Him.