Satan uses our insecurities for God.

The devil uses our insecurities. You may be looking at this statement and thinking, "duh, of course he does, he's the devil." But have you ever really thought hard about your insecurities and why exactly you're insecure about them?

My last blog post caused me to really think about my insecurities. I did NOT have any confidence in that post and I was so scared the message I was trying to portray was NOT the message that was being received. The day I posted it, I had a breakdown. I was scared that my grammar was wrong. I was scared that people would be offended. I was scared that I was being hypocritical. In the midst of it all, God popped a sentence in my head, "Satan uses your insecurities for Me."

I could literally stop this blog here and just let that marinate, but I am going to show you some things I've found while looking into this subject of insecurities.

First, in my Bible, the word "insecurity" is not found. I looked in the concordance. I googled "verses in the Bible about insecurity." Nothing..... There was something that I did find instead of, though. I found stories in the Bible of insecure people believing a secure God. My favorite? Job.

Let's breakdown this word insecurity. Webster definition(s): 1. uncertainty or anxiety about oneself; lack of confidence. 2. state of being open to danger or threat; lack of protection.

The first definition is the most common and I'm sure we all can point out something about ourselves we don't like. For me, when I was younger, I was insecure about my height and my smile. Mostly because those were things that people pointed out to me as being "different". My point here is that physically there is something we are not confident about.

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  Me through the years!

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Above you can see some photos of me through the years. A lot of insecure moments in between these photos.

The second definition is interesting, "being open to danger." This is where I want to take you to Job. If you've grown up in the church, you know this story; in case you haven't heard it, here is a quick synopsis. Satan was walking around on the earth when he came across a God-fearing man named Job (Jobe). Satan went to heaven to speak with God and challenged God that if He lifted His protection on Job and allowed Satan to test Job that Job would for sure curse God. So, God allowed him to do so. Satan harmed his family, his possessions, his livelihood, his friends, anything you can think of, and yet Job remained faithful. After many tests, Satan gave up and God blessed Job even more abundantly.

I want to share something interesting with you. Job 1:9-12. " So, satan answered the Lord and said, "does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face! And the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person." Satan points out to God that He (God) has a hedge around Job and his family, and his possessions. Satan cannot do anything because of this hedge. God lifts the hedge and told Satan not to touch the person of Job. At this very moment, Job's land, possessions, cattle, friends, etc. were no longer protected. They were now insecure. Satan challenged Job time after time, and every time God had to lift protection. Here is the point I'm trying to make, God is allowing your insecurities to be challenged.

One of my biggest insecurities is my writing. I've never been great at writing and that has been pointed out to me by many, many people. I've always enjoyed writing, and when I showed someone what I've written, immediately they would point out a misplaced comma, or a run-on sentence. Several times I would stop showing people what I've written because of the amount of "errors" that were in there. They would focus on the error rather than the content.

I want to turn your attention to Job 12:22. "He (God) uncovers deep things out of darkness, and brings the shadow of death to light." This chapter was written by Job to his friends who were telling him that he should curse God and die. This was in response to those comments. God allowed Satan to hurt Job, mentally, physically, emotionally, but in doing so, God brought things to light that may never had appeared without those challenges. God showed Job who was in his corner and who wasn't. He showed him the friends that were there to encourage him and help him, and the friends who were there just because Job was blessed. He lost family, friends, possessions, but he gained something even better; he gained a better relationship and understanding of God than he had before.

Satan has brought up my insecurity of writing more than once. He has made me feel small and dumb because my sentence structure isn't exactly right. He used family and friends since I was young to discourage me from writing at all, and yet here I am.

God uncovered a deeper thing out of this insecure moment. God shed light on my vulnerable issues. God showed me that Satan had been trying to stop God's process for many years leading up to this point. God showed me that one of my biggest insecurities has and will always be one of His biggest assets. Yes, I am still insecure about my writing, but I am not going to allow that insecurity to stop my voice. I'm not gonna allow satan to use that insecurity for his own personal use. I'm going to continue to write, to hopefully show other people that despite your insecurity God can use you.

What we see as our own limitation, God sees as an opportunity. God uses your insecurity. He uses it to push you, to challenge you, to show you He is the one behind the wheel. God has all of you in the palm of His hand. If you're feeling insecure about something, I encourage you to ask yourself why you're insecure about them. Is this insecurity something that God has allowed to come to the forefront because He wants you to trust in His process? The next step is to lean into Him and do what you are called to do.

Thanks for reading,

Em