Insecurity can lead to error
Dr. Roberto Miranda
SUMMARY: Believers often feel the need to prove themselves to unbelievers, revealing insecurity and a desire for approval. This was evident in King Jehoshaphat's impulsiveness to join ungodly kings in military campaigns, putting himself in danger. Insecurities can stem from negative experiences in the past and must be acknowledged and healed through prayer, the Word, and wise counsel. We must also remain vigilant and resist these tendencies to align with God's will.
How many times do we believers, when socially meeting with unbelievers, feel an obligation to prove that we are just as gregarious, cheerful, or bold as they are, or that we are not stereotypical starchy evangelicals? Frequently, through this attitude we reveal our insecurity about how we are perceived by outsiders, as well as our compulsive need for approval from others.
Evidently, that kind of insecurity was a recurring theme in King Jehoshaphat's psyche. That personal weakness inclined him to make risky and ultimately self-defeating decisions. On one occasion, Joram of Israel, an ungodly king and one of King Ahab's successors, invited Jehoshaphat to join him in a military campaign against the kingdom of Moab. Interestingly, Jehoshaphat's response is immediate, and very similar to the one he had given Ahab years ago when he invited him to the campaign against Ramoth-gilead: “I will go, because I am like you; my people like your people, and my horses like yours ”(2 Kings 3: 7). It is obvious that there was something about Jehoshaphat about the man who was somewhat insecure, eager to prove his manhood and his worth to others.
MERCY RESERVATIONS
In both cases, Jehoshaphat's decision to impulsively go to war with ungodly men turns out to be totally disastrous. His essential insecurity blinds him to the recklessness of his decisions. Serious complications arise during both efforts, and in both cases Jehoshaphat nearly lost his life. Only God's merciful intervention, motivated by Jehoshaphat's sincere and pious heart, prevented the king of Judah from losing his life as a result of these wild decisions.
Negative experiences from the past sometimes sow the seeds of insecurity in us. A father who did not affirm us in childhood, a marital or financial failure, a project that was not carried out as we expected, can permanently mark us, and throw us limping on the path of life, with a great emptiness in the heart and a powerful hunger for approval governing our decisions.
We have to be honest with ourselves and ask God for insight to discern those secret flaws in our character. We have to seek healing in prayer, the Word, and the sound advice of wise people. We also have to live always vigilant, attentive to those failures that will possibly accompany us all our lives, in order to resist those sinister tendencies when they want to deform our behavior, and lead them captive again and again to the will of God.
Evidently, that kind of insecurity was a recurring theme in King Jehoshaphat's psyche. That personal weakness inclined him to make risky and ultimately self-defeating decisions. On one occasion, Joram of Israel, an ungodly king and one of King Ahab's successors, invited Jehoshaphat to join him in a military campaign against the kingdom of Moab. Interestingly, Jehoshaphat's response is immediate, and very similar to the one he had given Ahab years ago when he invited him to the campaign against Ramoth-gilead: “I will go, because I am like you; my people like your people, and my horses like yours ”(2 Kings 3: 7). It is obvious that there was something about Jehoshaphat about the man who was somewhat insecure, eager to prove his manhood and his worth to others.
MERCY RESERVATIONS
In both cases, Jehoshaphat's decision to impulsively go to war with ungodly men turns out to be totally disastrous. His essential insecurity blinds him to the recklessness of his decisions. Serious complications arise during both efforts, and in both cases Jehoshaphat nearly lost his life. Only God's merciful intervention, motivated by Jehoshaphat's sincere and pious heart, prevented the king of Judah from losing his life as a result of these wild decisions.
Negative experiences from the past sometimes sow the seeds of insecurity in us. A father who did not affirm us in childhood, a marital or financial failure, a project that was not carried out as we expected, can permanently mark us, and throw us limping on the path of life, with a great emptiness in the heart and a powerful hunger for approval governing our decisions.
We have to be honest with ourselves and ask God for insight to discern those secret flaws in our character. We have to seek healing in prayer, the Word, and the sound advice of wise people. We also have to live always vigilant, attentive to those failures that will possibly accompany us all our lives, in order to resist those sinister tendencies when they want to deform our behavior, and lead them captive again and again to the will of God.
