Video from FNSWC 1973
Did you see it? Linus dropped the blanket!!
Did you have one as a baby, a small child, a security blanket or some other form of security, perhaps a "bippy"!
Many of us did and as we grow and mature and hopefully leave behind childish things we grow in the grace and mercy of our Lord. We drop the blanket and we ultimately find our security in Christ.
Our reflectiveness on our life should be ongoing, but it is only through our Lord we can make sense of it.
If we are insecure we express it in very different ways, based on our temperament, values, and conditioned habits, shaped by our past experiences. For some of us insecurity looks like meekness, compliance, and a downtrodden acceptance of defeat. Others will express their insecurity in bravado, defiance, proud and argumentative. Some people in their insecurity will avoid attention, others it moves to demand as much attention as possible.
Insecurity is a form of fear that God has designed in us as a warning that we are vulnerable to some kind of danger. It inspires us to take some protective action of some sort.
But in America and elsewhere “insecure” is not just a circumstance induced fear, but a constant state of being. In our postmodern vernacular what we mean by insecure is a significant lack of self-confidence, or to fear of other peoples disapproval or rejection, or inferiority.
This fear is telling us that our identity is being attacked or threatened.
The God of Abraham, the one whom we call Lord may not be the God of our life. We often say our God is the Lord, but if we look closely that may not really be true.
Luke 6:46
Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?
Isaiah 29:13
13 And the Lord said:
“Because this people draw near with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
Our God is the only person we believe has the greatest power to determine who we are, why we’re here, what we should do, and what we’re worth.
If we decide we need other people’s approval to feel validated, if criticism or rejection is debilitating, ultimately if we see a pattern of regularly disobeying Christ because we’re trying to escape or if we continue habitual or addictive sins to relieve us or comfort us in our fears ,then we have an idol problem we need to address.
We have a false god, an idol that needs to be knocked down, as we repent.
The end to our insecurity and all the striving that goes with it ends in Jesus.
Matthew 11:29-30
9 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”