Battling Insecurity with Help from Psalm 27

Last updated on: February 7, 2017 at 5:24 pm by Guest Contributor

Battling Insecurity with Help from Psalm 27 2017-02-07T17:24:48-05:00 Guest Contributor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Do you struggle with insecurities or low self-esteem? I think we all do, at least at times. The problem Christianity is facing today regarding this issue is unbiblical preaching on how to deal with insecurity. So many preachers today are really nothing more than motivational speakers. All they try to do is make everyone “feel good” about himself or herself. Some don’t even use Scripture, or at the very least just throw in a couple verses to give the appearance of preaching when all they are really doing is coddling a “poor me” mentality.

I am not demeaning the real struggle that comes when one has low self-esteem or insecurities. The pain they feel is real; the root cause for these painful conditions run deep. In addition to counseling in order to help uncover things from their past, or present, which may be reasons for such pain, a truly biblical look at the issue must also take place before there can be any kind of ultimate healing.

I want to take a very brief look at Psalm 27. I advise anyone reading this to stop right now and read that chapter, it’s not very long but it’s a bit lengthy for an article such as this. Please take a moment and read Psalm 27.

In my opinion, in addition to all of the passages that describe who we are in Christ, how God sees us through the lens of the work of Christ on the cross, Psalm 27 is the Bible’s greatest help for overcoming insecurity. As you probably noticed when reading it, the first half or so displays a confident attitude by the author, however, that confidence is based on the “humble reliance on God we find in the last half of the psalm.”[1] David’s public proclamation displayed with such boldness toward others was based on the private dependence he had on God. Let’s break up the psalm into four pieces and look at what it is David knew that gave him his security and a healthy self-esteem.

In verses 1-3 we see that “one thing” David knew was that the Lord was his light and salvation, in fact the Lord was the defense of his life. David faced many problems in his life, reading all of the Psalms make that very clear. However, his insecurities were counter balanced by his knowledge and faith that the Lord was his light, salvation, and defense. We would do well to keep this in mind ourselves.

In verses 4-6 we see that “one thing” David asked was that he would have the power to continue to abide, or live, in the presence of God. If we get it in our head that God is truly with us in life, if we live and act as though he is with us at all times, our insecurities should fade and our self-esteem should humbly grow.

In verses 7-12 we see that “one thing” David needed was powerful, consistent, effectual prayer. I know it almost seems cliché as prayer is always one of the solutions to any problem, but there’s a reason for that. The reason the Bible consistently instructs us to pray is because it works. It’s a hard discipline to be consistent with, but when we shed the idea of what everyone expects or defines prayer to be, we are free to truly pray and pray regularly. In other words, shake the idea you must “get right” before coming before God in prayer, you can’t “get right” without praying to Him. Other things like kneeling, crossing your hands, doing it first thing in the morning or the last thing at night, closing your eyes, etc., are not necessary ingredients for prayer. Just have a conversation with God and be honest. Pray in a boat while your fishing, pray while your driving; make Scripture reading a form of pray. It’s not the method that matters; it’s doing it that matters. The most powerful weapon in our arsenal against insecurities is prayer.

In verses 13-14 we see that “one thing” David did was to be strong and wait on the Lord. Being strong does not mean trusting in our own power. Being strong includes us fighting and doing our part, but it also means being strong by relying on the Holy Spirit. Don’t use the Spirit as an excuse to just “wait around,” that’s not what the passage means. Be strong, do what you can, don’t give up, and wait on the Lord for His timing for His timing regarding all things is perfect.

In conclusion, I hope these little tidbits help those of you who feel insecure and/or suffer from low self-esteem. They aren’t too deep, they’re not too demanding, and they’re not even very original, but they help. Add these to your battle and you will notice a significant difference. In fact, if you are troubled by insecurities in your life, it is wise to claim the truths of Psalm 27 for yourself. Make Psalm 27 “your” passage. It obviously helped David, and it can certainly help you as well.[2]

[1] Nelson’s Annual Preacher’s Sourcebook, 2003. “One Thing,” author not listed, p.135.

[2] Some portions from this article were adapted from the source cited above.

Featured Image: Hiding by Kristin Schmidt; CC 2.0

This was a guest post from Dr. Jeff Hagan.

Jeff is an ordained Christian minister with over 23 years of ministry experience. He has attended Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Luther Rice Seminary, Tyndale Seminary and a handful of other institutes as well. He has earned several degrees including the Doctor of Christian Education and the Doctor of Theology.

Previous Post

June 3, 2016

Televangelists of a "Greater" Piety - the Social Experiment

Next Post

June 12, 2016 It's the Guns! It's the Muslims! No, It's Sin.

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category #ShoutYourAbortion 10 Commandments 2016 Election 2017 2020 Election Abortion Accelerate Books Adultery America Andy Stanley Arminianism Ashley Madison Atonement B&H Academic Baptism Barry Horner Beauty Biblical Elders Billy Graham Blog Book Review Bruce Jenner Caitlyn Jenner Calvin Calvinism Cheating Chick-fil-A Children Christ Christian History Christian Living Christian Podcasts Christianity Christmas Church History Church Leadership Civil Disobedience Constitutional Coronavirus Culture Death Demoninations Discipleship Doctrine Doctrine of God Donald Trump Ecclesiology Entertainment Eschatology Ethics Evangelical Evangelism Evil Evolution Fear Forgive Yourself Forgiveness Francis Chan Future Israel Gay Marriage Gender Genesis George Floyd Gospel Government Gun Control Halloween hamartiology Heavenly Reward Hermeneutics History Hollywood Holy Spirit Homeschool Homosexual Homosexuality Hope Hospitality Humor Husband Infant Baptism Interview Jesus John Piper Josh Duggar Joshua Harris Judgment Justice Kathy Griffin Kim Davis Leadership Logic Love Manhood Marriage Martin Luther Messianic Prophecy Miscarriage Mocking Modesty Money Movie Reviews Music Music Review Netflix New Testament Obergefell Old Testament Parenting Pastor Pastoring Persecution Planned Parenthood Podcast Politics Pop Culture Pornography Prayer Preaching Predestination Pride Prosperity Gospel Rachel Held Evans Racism Ravi Zacharias Redemption Reformation 500 Reformation Day Reformed Theology Relationship Repentance Salvation Same Sex Marriage Satan Satire Scripture Seminary Sex Sin slavery Sola Scriptura Soteriology Sovereignty Spiritual Gifts Spurgeon Star Wars Steven Furtick Suffering Sufficiency of Scripture Sunday School Supreme Court Technology Testimony The Church The Lord of the Rings The Problem of Evil The Shack Theology Theonomy Tithing Transgenderism Tullian Tchividjian Uncategorized Universalism Vanity Fair Video Games Virgin Birth Voting Wife Women Worldview Worship

Select a Month June 2025 April 2025 March 2025 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 June 2023 April 2023 March 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz