I’ll just go ahead and say it in the first sentence: I have security issues.

In the baseball business, there’s not a lot of room to show insecurity. It’s unmanly, un-favored, and, frankly, unprofessional.

But I think it’s safe to say everyone struggles with this at some point. And I’d venture even further to say that, out of all the things that we need in this life, the feeling of security is one of our greatest needs.

Just bear with me for a little and think about it.

What does love give us? Security in our relationships. What does encouragement give us?  Security in our passions and dreams. What about money? Security in our financial lives. Most every desire we have stems from a need for security.

We want to feel safe. We want to feel important, like we matter to someone. We want to feel like our lives stand for something! But when we look for security from somewhere other than the intended source, when we take it away from its intended purpose, we find ourselves all the more insecure.

Crazy how that works, isn’t it? When we think we know something—like making “x” amount of money will bring me to “y” level happiness and thinking that having a boyfriend or girlfriend is really the answer to all my problems—we find that we missed it.

The security we’re looking for comes from one place. And it’s not in an object. No, no, no—“stuff” can’t speak to your heart and bring peace to your soul. “Stuff” just gets in the way of that relationship.

The Sunday–school answer is Jesus.

There’s only one place to drill a solid foundation of security that will never fall and that’s in the man that went to the cross for you and me! He has always been there for us and always will be—He’s not the problem, we are.

Prone to wander, Lord I feel it

Prone to leave the God I love.

Here’s my heart Lord

Take and seal it

Seal it for thy courts above

—“Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing,” lyric by Robert Robinson, 1758. (Modern adaptation quoted here.)

We don’t trust in Him enough to stay in His love and refuge. We run to other things that we can control (or think we can control), because we want to be in control. Then, before we can bat an eye, we realize that we weren’t controlling those things, but they were controlling us.

The insatiable desire to be great isn’t inherently bad, but never finding contentment during that search is bad. I see this a lot in baseball, but I’m sure it’s a world phenomenon.

We just can’t get enough. In our jobs, our relationships, our belongings and everything in between. Guys make it to the Big Leagues all the time—a childhood dream fulfilled! But then other people are getting paid more than they are so they want that big contract. Then they get that big contract. That’s a lot of hard work to say the least.

But then they want to be in the Hall-of-Fame. Now that’s a whole other class of players. They make it there after a long, successful career. Then what? Coaching success? More money? No. All these things are incredible; dare I say life-fulfilling accomplishments. But they don’t bring security.

You could accomplish and do absolutely everything you ever wanted, every dream and aspiration, every whim and desire, and you’d still be headed toward death’s door. Death is merely a pending event for all of us.

If you want to find real security—a security that is infinite—you have to put it somewhere that never changes. It must be in something that can always be counted on.

People make mistakes. Money is fleeting. Circumstances change. Plans crumble. Life really can’t be counted on, but Jesus can!

Our perception of Him changes, but He never changes. Scripture reveals new things about Him all the time, but it’s our responsibility to dive in and discover Him every day. That’s how we build on that foundation and that security. It’s how we grow deeper in our faith and in our confidence.

“Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him.  Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” —Colossians 2:7

Dive in and dig deep. The answer to insecurity isn’t pounding your fists into life’s problems and trying to punch them into submission—it’s simply submitting to God and trusting in Him for life.

—David Ledbetter

David Ledbetter is a regular contributor to The Increase and will be providing monthly articles and opinions.

Check out David’s Increase profile here: http://theincreasebaseball.com/author/david-ledbetter/

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