Insecure Faith
It certainly sounds contradictory, but what I see in the lives of the Hebrew patriarchs is "insecure faith." It is as much as reality as jumbo shrimp, military intelligence or other oxymorons. You might call it a paradox for Abraham is certainly elevated to us as an example of faith in Hebrews 11, as are his son, Isaac, and his grandson, Jacob. And yet they all exhibited the signs of insecurity. In fact, you won't find many in the Bible who show it more than these three. Yes, Abraham did obey God and move to a land he did not know. Yes, it was by faith that Abraham trusted in God to provide a son and heir to the promise. And yes, it was Abraham who was willing to sacrifice his heir at the command of God. Yet, in Genesis 12, Abraham leaves the land of promise due to a famine and deceives the Egyptians, telling them that Sarah is his sister and not his wife. He repeats that deception with Abimelech in Genesis 20. In Genesis 15, the word of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision saying "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, and your very great reward." Why would God say that to him if Abraham was secure and full of faith? There are even more occasions in Abraham's life, as well as Isaac's and Jacob's, that reveal an essential truth about insecurity. What I want you to see is that insecurity is not the antithesis of faith. In fact, you can be a great man or woman of faith and still be insecure. This is important because we measure our Christianity, our spirituality by our faith in God. When we are full of faith, we feel great about our relationship to God, but when our insecurities take over, we feel like failures. Insecurity does not mean that we lack trust in God. It means we are human.
Insecurity comes when we seek security in anything other than God. That is why it make sense for God to say to Abraham "Do not be afraid...I am your shield and your very great reward." God was saying to Abraham "I am your security both now and in the future." That is just what you and I need. We look to other things that cannot provide safety and security. We rely on our character or our intelligence or our work ethic, when the only reliable and secure One is right with us. He doesn't punish us for our misdirected trust, he simply says "Don't worry. Trust me." That is why he is the God of the Insecure.
