Security Issues

In a world where personal security reigns supreme in our consciousness...the question remains, are we? I mean, isn’t the craving of personal security rooted in our insecurity? People fear the economy, losing their job, not having enough for retirement, if their home gets broken into, if someone should steal their car, if someone steals their identity, their physical health, what people think of them, if people respect them…heck, even if they respect themselves! This fear, on so many levels, creates this incredible anxiety in life that many find it hard to enjoy and appreciate life as they have it. Jesus tells us that “satan is the author of fear”. The bible tells us that “God has not given us a spirit of fear…but of power, love and a sound mind (i.e. clear thinking)”. So if this is so…then why do we struggle so much with our insecurities? They say anti-anxiety and anti-depressant medications are some of the most in demand and abused drugs in America. Are we a people that is afraid to feel? Have our emotions become something we are to avoid? Has our insecurity created such a high anxiety level that we can no longer cope with the very feelings and emotions that make us human? Are not these very emotions and feelings a huge part of what makes us tick? Are they not part of God's design...perhaps it's a part that drives us toward Him. Why? Maybe in the midst of the struggle we realize we need help and maybe that is how it should be. Because God has a solution. Jesus promises a “peace that surpasses our understanding”. A peace that is beyond what we can humanly comprehend. Have you ever met people like that? Someone who is able to maintain a peace in the midst of chaos that is “other worldly”. Not only is that kind of peace miraculous…it is also very attractive…people notice and they want some too! I read today in the book of proverbs, chapter 3, verses 25 and 26…”have no fear of sudden disaster or the ruin that overtakes the ungodly, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep you from being snared”. Perhaps that’s the key. Our insecurity rests in a fear that “we are not in control”…that “we are not capable” of dealing with what may come our way. Yet proverbs reminds us that our confidence (or lack there of) should not be in ourselves…but that our confidence is securely resting in God…and that is where our security should lie…in Him…not ourselves…or other sources outside of God. It’s a simple, yet powerful truth, that we at ECHO hope to reinforce and encourage in all we are privileged to be in relationship with. May our source…our security…our confidence always be redirected and centered in the God who loves us and cares for each of us, more than we’ll ever know or realize. In that there is safety…peace…and security.

be God's!
Brian O
Lead Pastor dude, ECHO