So Long, Insecurity ...

... you have been a bad friend to us. Bad friend.

So, yesterday I spent the day with 300,000 insecure women (via local and satellite locations) and a handful of some pretty secure men (smile) at the "So Long, Insecurity" conference in Atlanta with Beth Moore. I've said it before and I'll say it again, "No one lays the out the Truth quite like Beth."

Just in case you missed the event and haven't bought the book yet, I feel a huge obligation to share with you some of the power punches that were shared:

- God doesn't force security on any of us.

- Anytime we need freedom from an area of insecurity, it's us and God.

- I have absolutely nothing to gain from my insecurity. Nothing good comes from it.

- Insecurity is not weakness ... it's unbelief.

Beth's texts for both sessions camped mainly in Ephesians 4:17-24. Take time to read those because it really affirms the points she makes.

- As Christians, we are supposed to be the poster children of "before and after."

- Victory or defeat resides in the mind.

Using the word secure, listen to these six statements that describe a secure woman:

S - She is saved from herself. The absolute biggest enemy we girls (and men, too) face in dealing with our insecurities is our self.

E - She is entitled to truth: God's Word is alive and active and we are given every opportunity in which to know the truth. It is the truth (and only the truth) that sets us free (John 8:32). God wants us to know the truth. He died to set us free, and that comes by knowing the truth. Think about it: How many lies have you believed over the course of your life and how have they worked for you?

C - She is clothed with intention: We've got to be women "on purpose." Nothing good from our lives just happens. We must be focused. Fixed. Prepared. Ready. Resolved. Intentional in knowing, living and walking this thing out with the Lord.

"When you give yourself fully to the Lord Jesus you just never know where you're going to end up."

"You cannot wait until you feel secure to believe in the security that we have in Christ Jesus."

"When you want to act like an idiot, that is the time to ask yourself, 'How would a secure woman respond to this?' "

"Secure people don't have to think of themselves all the time."

U - She is upended by grace: It's pretty much guaranteed that when our insecurities "rear their ugly head" we will turn the thing over onto ourselves. It becomes all about us. How we feel. How we were offended. How we were slighted ... or overlooked. The secure woman is able to turn her insecurity into an opportunity to extend grace. Why? Because it's no longer about her, but about her Savior. She may not be confident in herself, but she is completely confident in His love and grace. When we have been graced by God, we are free to grace others.

R - She is rebounded by love: Everything comes back to love. (Read 1 Corinthians, Chapter 13)
Love covers a multitude of sins. Without love, we are nothing and will never have even the slightest hope of becoming anything. And the deal breaker is that we will never be able to offer genuine love until we have accepted it and are willing to continually receive it from God.

"You will never be one iota secure until you are completely convinced that God loves you."

E - She is exceptional in life: God wants us to "stick out like a healing thumb." Not a perfect life, ladies. Not a sick, twisted, manipulating, game-playing, all about me life. Not someone who "sticks out like a sore thumb" because of "US" but someone who stands out [set-apart] because of her love and commitment to Christ and her desire to live the thing out.

All the ladies in the office gossip and talk bad about each other: Well, except her.

Everyone seems to be buying into the culture's standard of beauty: Well, except her.

I want to be an "except her" kind of woman, don't you?

This is not easy stuff, girls. We all know the areas where insecurity has caused us to limp, at best. For others, our insecurities have been such a way of life that we only know defeat ... and to be quite honest, maybe even grown "secure" in our insecurities. Help us, Lord.

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? (Isaiah 43:18-19a)

So long, Insecurity. You've been a bad friend to me. Rotten friend. I never want to see you again, kind of friend.