August 25, 2022
Insecurities: How to overcome them!
What makes me so insecure?!
An insecure person is someone that is uncertain of whom they are, their value, their capabilities, and their self-worth. Insecurity can be such a challenging feeling to have to deal with especially when we fight with these emotions on a regular basis. We are all going to have moments in our lives when we feel anxious, doubtful, and uncertain; that is completely normal. It becomes a problem when we remain in that mental and emotional state all the time!
With the way the world is currently, it makes it extremely easy for someone to begin to develop insecurities about themselves. Every one that you see on social media, TV, and in the magazine is seemingly perfect. They fail to mention the fact that most of the time they are altered or enhanced in one way or another. This creates such an extreme amount of uncertainty and doubt particularly in teens.
The good thing is there are things that can be done to significantly improve your daily battle with your insecurities. Below I have listed some of the ways that you can combat your lack of confidence so that you can get your life back on track!
Get into the Word of God:
I can’t tell you how important it is to saturate your mind with God’s Word. It will change the way that you think, the way that you view yourself, and your overall attitude. One of the biggest schemes that the enemy loves to use against us is planting doubt and fear. What that does is causes you to develop insecurities in at least one area of your life.
The Lord lets us know that we are not to worry about anything but instead to pray about everything, Philippians 4:6. When we take the time out to meditate on the Word of God daily, it will begin to eliminate the anxiety and the apprehension. How is that possible? The Bible has the ability to transform your mind because of the Powerful, Living Words that are embedded in the scriptures. The more Word you have in your heart and mind, the more freedom that you will have.
Some verses of Scripture that you can meditate on are:
· Matthew 6:25-“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?”
· 2 Corinthians 5:17-“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.”
· 1 John 4:18-“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”
· 1 Samuel 16:7-“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
· Joshua 1:9-“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
· Isaiah 41:10-“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
These are just a handful of the many bible verses pertaining to increasing your self-confidence that the Lord provides us through His Word. You can use these verses that I have provided for you to keep stored in your memory, but you also want to take the time to create your own list of scriptures that you feel will be helpful to changing your mindset. Meditate on them day and night and you will begin to see a significant change in the way that you think about yourself.
Understand where your insecurities come from:
Where do you think your insecurities are stemming from? Sit down with a piece of paper and get really honest with yourself. There had to be a moment in your life that was a shifting point that either caused or enhanced you having low confidence. There are many factors that play into what could have triggered your insecurity in the first place.
For Instance:
· Your childhood: When a person feels rejected or they weren’t properly shown love as a child like they are supposed to, it can definitely create internal insecurities.
· A bad relationship: A lot of times we get into relationships with a person that tears you down, belittles you, verbally or physically abuses you, or they silence your voice. This most certainly generates low-self-esteem no doubt about it.
· The enemy: Believe it or not, the devil has the ability to produce thoughts that he uses to project at you that can take root and flourish. Thoughts like “I’m not good enough, “or “I’m ugly,” or I’m worthless.” What this does is creates a stronghold in your mind and you now begin to believe the lies that the enemy is feeding you which will produce insecurities that you don’t need.
· A change in your appearance: If there is a significant change in the way that you look whether it be from an accident, having a child, or someone harming you; it can be detrimental to your self-confidence.
These are just some of the examples of what can affect the way that a person views themselves. Once you establish what the root causes of your insecurities are, you can tackle them head on.
Some helpful methods are:
· Going directly to the Lord: One of the benefits that the Lord Jesus Christ afforded us is the ability to come to the throne room of God boldly, Hebrews 4:16. He wants us to come to Him in our time of need and He will help you overcome any obstacle that you will ever face. All you have to do is ask.
· Speak to a counselor: Look into getting help from a therapist in your area that you can talk to so that you can have a solid plan on how to manage and conquer your insecurities.
· Speak to someone that you trust: When you can release those bottled up emotions that are making your confidence level low, it makes a huge difference. Speak to a person that you feel comfortable being vulnerable with, chances are they are also dealing with some form of insecurity as well and can empathize with you.
The bottom line is that you want to identify the root cause of your insecurities so that you can come up with a plan on how you are going to attack and defeat them one step at a time!
Work on your self-esteem:
Self-esteem has everything to do with how you perceive yourself, value yourself, and your level of self-worth. If you have low self-esteem than more than likely you are also battling a form of insecurity in some area of your life; they go hand in hand. The way that you carry yourself says a lot about the kind of person that you are. Do you walk into a room and immediately put your head down in order to avoid any eye contact with anyone, or do you walk in with boldness and confidence?
Some things to look out for pertaining to low self-esteem are:
· Always finding something negative to say about yourself
· Never accepting compliments from others
· Feeling like you don’t belong in any situation
· The inability to see the potential that you have
These are a few of the signs that point to low self-esteem. Once you can identify the behaviors associated with having low self-confidence you can begin to take the steps needed to subdue those negative emotions. You are not the only one suffering with these feelings, according to an article written called self-esteem on the Grand Rapids Counseling Services website; it stated that approximately 85% of people in the world suffer from low self esteem. That is a high percentage!
Luckily there are some things that can be done so that you can take control of the way that you view yourself. The last thing that you want is to allow your low self-confidence to develop into deeper insecurities.
For instance:
· View yourself as the Lord views you, as His workmanship, Ephesians 2:10. He created you in His image and He does not make mistakes. Embrace every unique quality that you possess knowing that there is only one you!
· Understand that nobody is perfect and when you can come to that realization, it will allow you to refrain from trying to reach unattainable goals.
· Find out what you are good at and master it. Everyone has gifts and talents that the Lord created us with. Find out what those are and use them to encourage and inspire others. There is no better feeling than when you are spreading positivity to those that truly need it.
These are some of the ways that you can work on improving your self-esteem to ensure that they will not turn into long-term insecurities that will affect you in the long run.
Change your mindset:
Your mindset is everything! If you are always focused on the negative and never the positive, your thoughts will be a direct reflection of that way of thinking. Romans 12:2 states, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” As we break down this verse of scripture we can see how significant renewing our mind actually is. It will make the difference between having consistent positive or negative thoughts.
The most successful way to restore your mind is the Word of God. It is living, powerful, and sharper than a double-edged sword, Hebrews 4:12. I am living proof that the Lord’s Word can completely transform and renew your entire thought process. The key thing to remember is that you want to remain consistent and read your bible daily.
You can also change your mentality by eliminating negative influences in your life. If you are in a relationship with a person that is consistently verbally, mentally, physically, or emotionally abusing you, it will take a toll on how your view yourself. Choose you first; you have to be selfish when it comes to your overall well-being.
If you have a friend that stays negative all the time, you may want to reevaluate your friendship. Is it really worth the long-term repercussions? Take a moment to assess your inner circle, the people that have the ability to speak into your life, are they more toxic than beneficial? If so, it might just be that time to let that relationship go!
Turn those negative thoughts into positive ones:
When you make it a daily practice to focus on nothing but negative thoughts, it will begin to consume you. It is not healthy to stay in a harmful frame of mind and in fact the enemy loves to use our vulnerable mentality to his advantage. Believe it or not, those overpowering thoughts that you are having that are causing you to develop insecurities within yourself are coming directly from the enemy. What he does is throws fiery arrows in your direction in the hopes that you will come into agreement with his lies.
We are to take every one of those undesirable thoughts that we have and bring them into captivity, 2 Corinthians 10:5. If we allow those feelings and emotions to take root, they will eventually turn into strongholds. The question is, exactly how do we change those negative thoughts into positive ones? What you do is combat every adverse thought with a verse of scripture.
For instance:
If you have some random thought in your mind telling you how ugly you are:
Meditate on Psalm 139:14-“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.” Let that scripture saturate in your spirit with the knowing that the Lord took time to shape and mold you and you are not an accident, you were created with a Purpose.
If you are battling with thoughts telling you that you are not good enough:
Meditate on Isaiah 43:4-“ Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, And I have loved you; Therefore I will give men for you, And people for your life.” Keep this verse of scripture in your memory bank so that when the enemy attempts to plant seeds in your head about you not being good enough, the Lord can bring this scripture to your remembrance.
If the enemy throws a dart at your mind telling you that you are never going to amount to nothing:
Mediate on Philippians 1:6-“being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;” The Lord is making it very clear that He will complete any purpose that He has destined for you. He is Faithful and it Will come to pass!
These are some examples of how you combat those negative thoughts projected at you by the hand of the enemy. It works and I am living proof that it does. The main thing that you want to keep in mind is that you must remain consistent.
What are the insecurities that you struggle with? Write them down and then make a list of scriptures that directly pertain to the insecurity that you are struggling with. When the enemy comes against you with those adverse thoughts, you combat him with the Word of God!
Download my free Scripture checklist that is offered on my website and it is packed with Powerful Scriptures that you can mediate on daily.
Also, checkout my other blogs pertaining to this topic:
How to Build your Self-Confidence