Chapter 2 ~

In usual Beth Moore style, she gets substantially deeper in chapter 2. Here are the tidbits that stood out the most to me:

Don't let your insecurity be substantial enough to: cheat you of the powerful life Jesus promised, hurt, limit or distract us from effectiveness or fulness of purpose. I was shocked to find out that 98% of women surveyed had an insecurity that they felt hurt them in some way or another, but I guess I shouldn't have been shocked. After all, I didn't ask y'all to tell me if you had insecurities or not last week, I asked y'all to disclose your biggest insecurity, and only 2 out of 11 seemed to lack a significant insecurity. I'm glad to have such a diverse group of women, and I'm especially glad that we have at least two examples where we can see secure women who know who they are in Christ. Interestingly enough, the two weren't born secure - it was through prayer (either by them or someone else), and faith in God that they were able to overcome insecurities.

It didn't surprise me that the devil has a tremendous amount to gain if we don't deal with our insecurities, but it did surprise me that having insecurities can be just like doubting God about ourselves. According to Ephesians 2:10, we were created to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do; If we're not good enough, then how could we possibly complete those good works?

After reading the definition of insecurity, I begin to think "cool, maybe I'm just sensitive and not at all insecure - after all . . . I'm not chronically anything!" Just about that time, Beth says "don't be too hasty to let yourself off the hook just because one dimension of the portrait doesn't look like you." Insecure women are a mix of confidence and self consciousness all rolled into one neat and tidy package. She also, quite conveniently I might add, gives us the definition of chronic and even though we've changed it to mean a very long time, the actual definition means a few days (yes, i've totally been insecure about more than one issue for more than a few days . . . guess I am chronic!)



Forms of insecurity that stood out to me:

Having someone upset at you being hard, even if you're on the right side of the conflict ( I personally struggle terribly with this - I cannot stand for someone to be mad at me. I would never intentionally hurt someone, and it burns me up inside to think that I might have, especially when there's no hope of resolution.)

Anxiousness for no reason

Harboring unrealistic expectations about love or relationships - wanting friends to suck it up and deal with their circumstances rather than whine about it to you, wanting husbands to respond exactly as we would if they were in our situation.



I'm not sure about y'all, but I too was caught up in the trap of thinking that because of my insecurities, I really don't suffer from pride very often (after all, I definitely realize where I'm not perfect and I know that God is King over my life and without Him, I am nothing). And then bam! she shows us how pride and self-centeredness play a major role in our insecurities. This one will have to grow on me again because less than 24 hours after reading and getting it, I'm right back to "seriously? How in the world is that possible?" LOL

I love how she shows us that we are blessed in some relationships and our unrealistic expectations just happen to be met, making us think that our expectations are in fact realistic. Sometimes we go for a long time with every relational need being met until something changes, maybe in our friend's or loved one's availability, and our world comes crashing down on us, causing us to freak out - sometimes without the person who let us down even knowing that they did anything wrong. Sometimes we expect things from people that they are in no way capable of giving, at least for any real amount of time, and this can cause severe pain for us. The funny thing is that in our minds, we aren't the one who changed, they are, and we begin to harbor all kinds of anger and resentment toward them. I personally believe that this is why we should go straight to someone if they have offended us. How will they know if we don't tell them? How will you know that they never intended to hurt you if they don't even know that you've been offended?

Chapter 2 ends like this: Insecurity: it's miserable, we don't need it, we don't want it, and we can live without it! "So what would happen if we quit being accomplices in our own misery?"

I don't know about you, but I can't wait to find out!!! =0) See ya tonight!