“The Lord is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap” – Proverbs 3:26



When you find yourself with a little extra free time what do you do? Do you work on fun projects around the house? Go golfing? Make an attempt at cooking something new? Perhaps you dive into a good book you’ve wanted to read? Whatever you do with your spare time isn’t it just wonderful to be able to use that time to focus your attention and energy on things you really want to do?

One of my many favorite things to do when I have extra time on my hands is to focus a little more purposely on how I can grow spiritually in those areas that I have been too busy to pay attention to. One such area is my sense of security or perhaps better said my insecurities.

Like most people, I have a handful of insecurities that I really need to work on. The problem is some insecurities are easier to work through than others. For example, twelve years ago I was feeling insecure about my body. In order for me to move beyond my insecure feelings I had to be honest with myself. I had gained 30 pounds. I finally had to admit to myself that the foods I loved to indulge in and my lack of exercise were causing me to gain weight. Just by being honest with myself I was able to recognize and accept that it was time to make better choices. That’s right, I had to choose to give up my bag of cheesy-coated, crunchy, munchy Cheetoh’s, and instead grab the carrot sticks, get off the couch and get moving. When I finally committed to making these good choices, I lost those 30 pounds and witnessed my insecurities in this area melt away.

Nevertheless there are other insecurities that go much deeper (for me) and are much harder to work through. They are those big insecurities that usually stem from childhood such as the fear of being disappointed or hurt, feelings of inadequacy, fear of rejection. Those are the tough ones and they are also the ones that seem to come to my attention when I have free time on my hands.

So you may be asking at this point, who in their right mind wants to spend their free time, working through those types of issues? Well, call me crazy because I do.

As challenging as it has been, I cannot deny that every significant change, every personal growth I’ve ever experienced in my life started when I took time to be completely honest with myself. There is something very freeing about stopping in the midst of your busy life and admitting wholeheartedly to yourself that you still have a few issues that you cannot move beyond without God’s help and then discovering real help through His Word.

I was reminded of this recently as my schedule has changed in such a way that I now have a fair amount of free time. Because my natural desire to grow spiritually kicked in to high gear, I decided to get real honest with myself (and with God). The result of this honesty led to the understanding that I still struggle with “excessive striving” at times.

Now don’t get me wrong, a certain measure of striving is extremely important for all of us. It’s what helps push across the finish line, it’s how we get things done but that’s not what I’m talking about. The type of striving I struggle with is my tendency to keep myself so busy pursuing goals that I don’t take time to deal with areas that I really need to address in order to be a better me. Can you relate?

Fortunately God gets us. He understands how we operate. He knows we will duck and dodge the truth about ourselves all too often until perhaps we get a little free time to ourselves to reflect.

When I had my honest moment recently, wouldn’t you know that I opened my bible and BAM! Proverbs 3:26 “The Lord is your security”, jumped right out at me as God’s way of saying, “Lay down your unnecessary striving, child. It’s not getting you anywhere. Don’t you know I’m your security?”

I love how author Beth Moore says it, “Neither God nor you have anything to gain by your persistent insecurity.” Isn’t that the truth?

Next time you have some free time on your hands sure go golfing or work on a fun household project but also, don’t forget to take a moment and have a heart-to-heart with yourself and with God. Find out what little (or big) issues may be lingering and need addressing. Once you’re honest with yourself, then grab your Bible and let God secure you with the promises of His word.



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