The Costs of Insecurity

Insecurity is one of the most difficult feelings to manage when
activating forgiveness. Insecurity produced by a personal weakness might be attributed to the inability to trust even when conditions appear safe. Another weakness is lack of impulse control, which allows for spontaneous actions before analyzing their consequences. 

The desire to please is so strong in some people, they fail to establish boundaries against being hurt in the future. An unrealistic desire to please could be based on the need to keep life predictable. Whether true forgiveness can take place under these conditions is questionable, but as conflict diminishes, hopefully life returns to a controlled normal.

Feelings of insecurity create suffering; therefore, it’s imperative to examine the source, so forgiveness can take place. While God will not force anyone to be forgiving, he paves the way to make forgiveness a viable choice. Trust God to create situations where forgiveness can move forward as he makes your forgiveness possible.  

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You will never succeed in life if you try to hide your sins. Confess them and give them up; then God will show mercy to you.

~Proverbs 28:13 Good News Bible

Always be glad because of the Lord! I will say it again: Be glad. Always be gentle with others. The Lord will soon be here. Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand, and this peace will control the way you think and feel.

~Philippians 4:4-7 Contemporary English Version 

Evil Distractions? Impulse Control Imperative!

Uncontrollable impulses and urges build a bridge to disaster and destruction. The apostle Paul warned against submitting to distractions that are unacceptable to God. He explicitly instructs us to "put to death sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed.” When the young man Shechem met teenage Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob, he became so out of control with lust and evil thoughts that he raped her.

Becoming distracted happens to everyone at some level, but it’s imperative to exercise impulse control when tempted by evil distractions. However, Shechem gave free reign to his impulsive thoughts and desires and, in doing so, committed a grievous crime.

After raping Dinah, he realized his sinful distractions would have unimaginable painful consequences. Permitting Christ Jesus to have a place of prominence in your thoughts and feelings for others will give you power for effectively managing evil impulses, regardless of their significance. "Greater is Christ Jesus who is in you than Satan who is in the world."