Waging War in Your Mind
“When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. As they danced, they sang: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.’ Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. ‘They have credited David with tens of thousands,’ he thought, ‘but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?’ And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.”
1 Samuel 18:6-9 NIV
Insecurity will destroy you.
Insecurity takes up a ton of territory in our mind, crowding out space for all the good things God calls us to dwell on. The Scriptures above in 1 Samuel say Saul simply “thought” and that is where his demise was birthed. What you think about will impact how you live. Insecurity is ultimately an issue of the heart but it wages war in our minds.
Within this story, we see that “Saul kept a close eye on David.” Why would he do this? Because he was thinking about him.
We must win the war of insecurity in our mind by renewing it and dealing with our past. Ironically, the only way to go back in time to deal with our issues is to….you guessed it, think about them. Some of us need to go back to the painful moments that created roots of insecurity in our lives and deal with them. We know that Saul didn’t do this...and his insecurity ultimately ruined him.
Can you imagine how miserable Saul must have been? His army comes home victorious but he’s preoccupied with what song the women are singing. Then he resolves in his heart that he’s going to keep an eye on David. I would be willing to bet that Saul wasn’t a very fun guy to be around!
Maybe you find yourself crippled by anxiety and insecurity like Saul. Is your thought life constantly out of whack? Do you struggle with comparison? Does it cause you to walk in fear of others' success?
Here are three ways I believe we can stop insecurity from overtaking our lives and stealing our victory:
Rediscover your identity in Christ. Find out what the Bible says about you. It’s crucial that you know this! Read scriptures that affirm the value heaven places on your life. Jesus exchanged his life for yours, paying a very high price for you. Our Father in Heaven thinks the world of you...His son or daughter.
Learn to celebrate others instead of comparing. Every story is different and that’s okay. In fact, we should celebrate it! When we compare our journey to others, we feed insecurity. When we celebrate others, we starve it.
Get the counseling you need. Years ago, a counselor who became a dear friend of mine helped me walk out of a spirit of fear myself. What I found was that it was deeply rooted in insecurity. In 2015, I was devastated by crippling fear and it caused me to seek help. I compared myself and my calling to everyone else’s. I wanted to please people more than God and I had no idea I was doing it. Sometimes, we need someone to come alongside us to navigate the things that come up in life. My friend Mike was a gift from the Father for me. It wasn’t just “sofa psychology.” No, it was spiritual warfare and the true renewing of my mind. Find a Christian counselor to help you or reach out to the local church to point you in the right direction!