Last week we opened a brand new series called “Rejection” and we talked about how bad rejection hurts, but we also learned that Jesus knows the pain of rejection as well. Jesus knows the hurt that is associated with a friend who turns their back on you, He knows the pain of being left alone by those and accused, he knows the actual physical pain of taking a punishment that He didn’t deserve. We looked at Isaiah 53:3-5, which says,
He was despised and rejected—
a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
He was despised, and we did not care.
Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!
But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
Jesus willingly took on this rejection, because the reward was so great. What was that reward? You! You are that reward. Jesus loved you enough to wear that rejection so you wouldn’t be rejected by God.
Let’s pick up this conversation and talk about insecurity
I believe to some degree or another we all struggle with insecurities of some kind. I know I certainly do. In fact, I’m like the king of insecurities. If you would have told me in high school that one day I would be standing on a stage talking to students, I would have stuffed myself in my own locker! I had plenty of friends because I was nice to people, and spoiler alert, people want to be around people who are nice, but the truth is I had very few friends that went past being acquaintances, because I was unwilling to do anything that I thought might make me look dumb.
My biggest insecurity was detrimental to my progress. I wouldn’t allow myself to ask questions when I was confused and the only things that I would put myself out there for were things that would come easy for me. This resulted in terrible grades in several of my classes. Math and Science were terrible, while English and History were good. I was the weirdest C student you’ve ever met! Two A’s in English and History with Two D’s Science and Math.
So using myself as a case study here, let’s figure out why this cycle of insecurity developed. I thought that if I asked a dumb question, then people would think I was dumb. Yet, not asking the question made me ignorant to the answer that I needed.
Perhaps this developed in me asking a question and being made to feel like I was asking dumb questions at some point? I can’t say that I remember that happening, but I can say that once I broke through that insecurity, in college I found myself in a better place mentally as well as academically. And here’s my promise to you, I’ll never make you feel dumb for asking a question in Deeper!
So we’ve spent time talking about my insecurities, what about yours? Now I’m definitely not going to have you share those publicly! But I do want you to think about some insecurities that you might struggle with for a moment. Often times those insecurities develop out of a situation in which we were rejected.
The simple definition of insecurity is, the lack of security or safety. A situation where we are not confident or secure.
So here is my question to you, what do you place your security in? We respond with insecurity when our security gets shaken. Grades, relationships, sports, money - you name it! Each one of us has our security in something. Tonight I want to show you how to overcome insecurities by establishing real security in your life.
Philippians 4:19 says, And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
Too many times we try to find all of our needs in the things that I just listed.
But what happens when:
Our grades miss our expectations
Our friends fight
Everyone is better than we are at the sport we play:
My first year in college a friend of mine convinced me to play on his intramural flag football team. I love football and I’m decent at catching so I thought, “Hey, this will be fun” until our first game when we played a team that was captained by the college teams Senior QB who had torn an ACL and couldn’t play on the team. Turns out, a torn ACL doesn’t really affect his throwing arm. They destroyed us that day.
I remember going back to my dorm and telling my roommate, “There’s no way I’m playing on this team anymore.” Going into the first game I thought that all those Saturday’s and Sunday’s spent watching football would pay off but, from that point on I was completely insecure about going on that field again!
When we live out of insecurity, our security is compromised and we make decisions out of panic mode instead of out of a clear lens guided by the Holy Spirit.
Here’s the truth, If we can identify how to live securely in Christ now, we’ll save ourselves a ton of heartache and frustration in the future. Check out Hebrews 6:18-19,
So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. 19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.
Highlight those words Strong and Trustworthy. Let’s imagine the opposite, Weak and Shaky. How many of you guys have, that chair, or that stool, you know what I’m talking about. The one that is just about to break, but for some reason you haven’t thrown it away. Maybe its 100 years old and has been passed down for 7 generations, or maybe you got it at a yard sale last year. Either way, let’s say a lightbulb goes out in your room. Are you gonna use that stool to replace it? Definitely not!
If you’re smart, and you value your leg you’re going to either deal with the darkness, or you’re going to find something more secure. Find that security in Jesus.
Psalm 139:14 says,
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
Now check out 1 Corinthians 12:14-18
Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it.
You were designed by God purposefully! You’re not a mistake, and you’re not messed up. God loves you!