I think I can safely say that we all have insecurities. There is probably at least one thing about you that if given the chance you would change. I know for myself, I tend to be incredibly shy. I will always remember an evaluation a professor in graduate school gave to me. He said that while He enjoyed my papers that I turned in, my shyness exasperated him. Exasperated; that is a strong word. There have been many prayers I have offered to God asking Him why He created me as shy as He did. I am not a naturally social person. In fact, during seminars in graduate school, I would often have to have a little conversation in my head before class (I hope I am not the only one who has had conversations with themselves in their head). I would tell myself ‘Kimberli you have to speak at least three times during seminar today.’ And I would literally count the number of times I spoke and once I hit three times, I would not say another word during the course of the seminar. A little embarrassing to admit, but my insecurities definitely lie in my shyness.
I gave this illustration because God can use you in areas that you would never have picked. I am amazed that Ben ever gave me a chance to speak. When I first moved to
I think of King David, who is my favorite person in the Bible to study, if anyone could have insecurities it was him. The youngest child, David’s own father did not even think he could be the next king. Yet that is who God used. Moses, he did not have the ability to speak, but God was telling him, ‘it is your voice I want to use.’ So many other examples of people in the Bible who God used regardless of their own insecurities.
I don’t know what God is planning on doing through you. I don’t know the plans He has for your life. I don’t know the things He wants to do. But I want to encourage you not to let your insecurities get in the way. God might just have something that you would never have picked for yourself. And so I encourage you if someone asks you to do something, do it. It is so easy to fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others. God has created each of us perfect, He has made no mistakes. Sometimes we look at certain individuals and we say ‘wow, I could never be like that, I could never do what they are doing as good as they do it.’ And in doing so, we minimize the beauty of ourselves. I want to encourage you, as I encourage myself, to let go of your insecurities. If you have been asked to speak, even if you are shy, I encourage you to speak. If you have been asked to lead a ministry, even if you have never led a ministry, I encourage you to lead. If you have been asked to teach Sunday School, even if you don’t feel you know enough of the Bible, I encourage you to lead Bible Study.
I also want to encourage those who are trying to find your place in God. Maybe you have so many hidden insecurities; you don’t know how God can ever use you. I pray that my example serves as encouragement to you. When I was 18 I would never have said that God was going to use my voice. I was so shy. Yet here I am almost 27 and that is what God has done. God used me in an area I would never have imagined. God can use you too in an area that you would never have picked for yourself. And the awesome thing is that in the end God gets all the glory, and you will never forget that it was He who brought you to the place that He did.