1 Samuel 18:10-11
Now it came about on the next day that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he raved in the midst of the house, while David was playing the harp with his hand, as usual; and a spear was in Saul's hand. Saul hurled the spear for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David escaped from his presence twice.
Saul put his confidence in his spear that revealed his insecurities right through his life. Saul was an insecure human being which never founded his security in God. God didn’t equip Saul any less than David. Saul’s choices were different than David’s thus creating and giving birth to different results in his life.
Saul’s spear is an iconic reminder to every generation of the vanity and futility of maintaining and defending one’s position, status, or authority apart from God. It is a reminder of the consequences of acting upon the feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy that may grip us all – the crippling personality trait we call insecurity.
Don’t look for the word insecurity in the Bible. It’s not there. Nonetheless, Saul’s life reads like a textbook case of someone who suffers from a profound level of insecurity.
His career as Israel’s first king starts out brilliantly, but just a few years after his coronation things begin to go very wrong. The self-effacing farmer anointed by the Spirit of God quickly turns into a bitter tyrant. Throughout his reign we find him armed and ready to do battle with anyone who would threaten his position or stand in his way. His insecurities twist and contort him into a man of extreme contradictions.
Here are a few examples:
He was better looking than his contemporaries, but thought himself inadequate.
He was chosen by God to be king of Israel, but hides himself on the day of his coronation.
He was imbued by the Spirit of God to deliver his nation from foreign oppression, but used that power to carry out his personal agendas.
He was the tallest man in Israel, but when a warrior giant confronted his armies, he lent out his armour to a young shepherd with a nice complexion and a flair for music.
He had a devoted son, but believed him to be a disloyal conspirator.
He surrounded himself with Godly and talented leaders, but eyed them with suspicion and stymied their development.
He was praised by his nation, but unable to laud the achievements of his subordinates.
We don’t have to understand all the sources and causes of our insecurities to stop acting upon them.
I believe that if we have any legitimate hope of preparing, blessing, and releasing the next generation of leaders; of empowering our families; or of fulfilling our own destinies, we must be willing to exchange our insecurities for the security of knowing our value and worth apart from our belongings, positions, titles, and even our own gifting.
The Word of God is not a self-help book. The Word of God is a God-help-me book.
Definition of insecurity:
Insecurity refers to a profound sense of self-doubt, a deep feeling of uncertainty about our basic worth and our place in the world. Insecurity is associated with chronic self-consciousness, along with chronic lack of confidence in ourselves and anxiety about our relationships. The insecure man or woman lives in constant fear of rejection and a deep uncertainty about whether his or her own feelings and desires are legitimate.
First, insecurity rarely, if ever, stays confined to our secret inner lives.
Insecurity involves constant fear, an ongoing and often life-long struggle with the
dread of rejection and with a sense of legitimacy.
According to one tradition, the Chinese language might have the best way of writing insecurity. It may involve two symbols: the first means “phobia in high place,” and the second means “origin or beginning.”
Dangers of Insecurity (The spear of Saul)
They sabotage the lives of those they perceive to be a threat to their position or status.
They protect their reputations at the expense of relationships.
They hinder and delay the development of subordinates.
They enact destructive rules and regulations.
They continue in their offices and positions after they are no longer effective.
They sacrifice family to accomplish their goals.
They ignore sound advice and are dismissive of the ideas of others.
They misuse resources for personal vendettas.
They engage in self aggrandizement.
They jeopardise their legacy.
Secure people in the Lord do the opposite; (The harp of David)
They help launch those around them into greater spheres of success.
They are transparent and allow those around them to know them intimately.
They follow the prophetic words God has given them.
They train and develop future leaders.
They allow their institutions to be governed by the Spirit of God.
They move out of ineffective roles and positions in a timely manner.
They correctly value the importance of their families.
They receive counsel and are open to new ideas.
They have little concern for the material trappings of success.
They ensure a long-lasting legacy.
They glorify God.
The Curse of Insecurity
A curse is a persistent and ongoing bent to behave or think in an ungodly and harmful way.
A curse is an also a persistently unwholesome appetite to experience something we were not meant for. A curse is a behavioural or attitudinal pattern that is deeply rooted in our belief systems, and that is often wrapped around a destructive pattern in our personal family histories. A curse is a bad way of thinking that leads to bad behaviours.
The behaviours we need to avoid not to be like Saul;
1) Insecure in the Word
Overcoming spiritual insecurity involves trusting in both the universal promises of scripture that are for all believers and the personal promises and directives we receive from the lord that are unique to us.
1 Samuel 10:7-8
It shall be when these signs come to you, do for yourself what the occasion requires, for God is with you. And you shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice peace offerings. You shall wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you should do.
Saul’s First Mistake
This is why the account of Saul’s premature and inappropriate offerings of both the burnt offering and the peace offerings at Gilgal is the beginning of the end for Saul’s reign as king. It was his inability to trust the word of God when his success and reputation were on the line that uncovered his deep-seated insecurity in God’s word to him.
Biblical trust can be defined as obeying God’s word in such a way that we will suffer real harm if God does not deliver what He promised us. Saul’s disobedience ensured that his reign would not continue into the next generation.
He crossed the legitimate boundaries of his office and offered sacrifice, an act reserved exclusively for prophets and priests. He didn’t wait the full seven days, but allowed his fear of failure to override his faith and trust in the prophetic words that were spoken over him some three years before.
By violating his God-given boundaries, Saul illustrates the truth that we’ll never be asked to disobey God in order to accomplish His will. It might be tempting, but this is a great reminder that we only need to do our part – not someone else’s, and certainly not God’s.
David is a perfect contrast to Saul in this respect. David was anointed and received a prophetic word from Samuel that he would become the next king of Israel. But David never budged in his resolve to wait, and he was unwilling to kill Saul even when he had multiple opportunities to do so.
For David, the prophetic word about becoming king didn’t trump the sixth commandment not to commit murder. David stayed inside of God-given boundaries and waited for God to fulfill His word in His time. David knew that God didn’t need his help to make him king. He knew that he couldn’t be both a lawbreaker and a fulfiller of prophetic promise.
Apparently, God takes great pleasure in testing our integrity this way, because there always seems to be the opportunity to do similar things when He is the only one watching. He tests us to discover if we’ll be like Saul and violate his word in a misguided and carnal attempt to accomplish His will, or be like David and wait.
Here are a few every day examples:
The entrepreneur who has received a prophetic word that her business will be successful will undoubtedly be tested by opportunities to engage in less-than-ethical business practices.
The single person who has received a word that she will find her mate may find herself tempted to cross boundaries in an attempt to secure someone’s affections.
The junior leader who has received a word that he will occupy a senior position in a church or organization may be tempted to speak ill of the current leader to accelerate a transition he feels is taking far too long.
2) Power of the Spirit
Overcoming spiritual insecurity involves living in the spirit.
1 Samuel 10:6
“Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man.”
Sadly for Saul, his family, and his nation, the anointing and power that fell upon him that day was just a temporary experience rather than an ongoing lifestyle.
Galatians 3:3 NLT
[3] How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?
Unfortunately, believers can fall into a pattern similar to the one Saul exhibited: having temporary, non-transformative experiences. We attend church or special meetings where we experience the move and power of the Spirit, but resist the experience of His deep indwelling. We can neglect the indwelling of the Spirit and seek to replace that experience with external ones.
Let’s create our spiritual weight, pick up the harp of David and resist the spear of Saul in every way in our life. Worship and the atmosphere it produces transforms our lives into supernatural life’s resulting in inexplicable Testimonies which can only render the glory to God!
Blessings
Didier
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