When You Feel Insecure and Uncertain

Inspirations

By Meghan Ryan Asbury

It had only been a week since I moved to a different city where I didn’t know anyone. A new coworker had invited me to her friend’s house for a party. I was thankful for the invitation but simultaneously felt nervous.

T he bubbles in my stomach grew progressively worse the entire way there as I followed my GPS and silently questioned my outfit choice. It was as if the insecurities of my high school self had climbed into the passenger seat, and I tried to hype myself up, reminding myself I was a grown woman with nothing to prove, and I could just be myself. When I arrived at the unfamiliar house and timidly walked through the front door, my mind filled with questions

Would these become the people I called my friends? Would they like me?

Walking into a party full of people I didn’t know is a small example of a bigger fear lying beneath, in the deeper places of my heart, full of unknowns, unanswered prayers, uncertain outcomes, and unending time of waiting.

Will God be faithful to me in this new season?

Moving scared me, and leaving behind a life I loved for one I knew nothing about made me feel vulnerable. Vulnerability exposes how we are hiding, but it also exposes us to hard things we’ve been hiding from. In this case, it showed what I really put my trust in. As a Christian, I want to say I put my trust in God, but in this moment, and so many others throughout my life, I put it in what I felt like I could control. Whenever I stop feeling in control, insecurity and anxiety come flooding in.

Then I question if I believe what the Bible says about God’s faithfulness to me.

Moments when you feel unsteady or shaky can reveal a lot. Maybe you’re in a place in life that has made you feel insecure or uncertain. Whether in a specific circumstance you are facing or across years of wondering where the path you are on is heading, it can be easy to cling to whatever is around us to make us feel safe and steady.

But when those things we try to cling to are no longer there, where do we turn?

This is why I admire the story of Ruth in the Bible so much. When she spoke the words below to her mother-in-law, Naomi, Ruth was choosing to leave behind her entire life and everything familiar to her:

“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16)

For context, Ruth was a part of a culture that did not follow God. When her husband died, she had two options: stay with her people and what was familiar to her, or go care for her mother-in-law in a foreign land. She chose to leave her people and home to follow Naomi and a God she barely knew. And the place she moved to did not typically welcome outsiders like her.

But she trusted God’s faithfulness, even though she did not know what the outcome would be. How did she do it?

She committed to going and staying where she felt God called her. Regardless of whether she would be accepted, she decided to believe she would not be alone. She didn’t wait for a sign or a guarantee—just a quiet conviction that God would go with her.

Like Ruth, we have a choice: cling to what is comfortable and familiar for our security, or trust God in the midst of the unknown. We can look to His Word and His character, which have proven He is who He says He is and He will do what He says He will do. Not just for Ruth but for you and me, too.

I could have let my fears keep me from going to the party, but I’m glad I didn’t. Not because I met my future best friends—I didn’t. But that night became a small reminder that God was already ahead of me, preparing good things I couldn’t yet see.

When you look back at your life, where do you see glimpses of God’s faithfulness? They may not be big, extravagant instances, but if you are alive and reading this today, it’s proof God has been faithful in His pursuit of you. You have breath in your lungs, which means He has a plan for you that’s not finished yet.

When we feel insecure, God’s promises are sure. When we feel uncertain, God’s faithfulness remains.

The ultimate proof of God’s faithfulness is in His son, Jesus. The same Jesus who was born through the lineage of Ruth’s family came to earth as a sign of everything God had promised up to that point coming to pass. And one day, Jesus is going to come back and make all the wrong things in this world right again. (Revelation 21:5)

When you find yourself insecure and uncertain, remember: God is faithful, and we can cling to Him.

— V —

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Meghan Ryan Asbury is an author and speaker who is passionate about helping people discover and live out their God-given callings. She has worked in international ministries as well as with Proverbs 31 Ministries. When she’s not surrounded by friends, you can usually find her reading a book or enjoying the great outdoors. A 30-A beach girl, born and raised, she and her husband now reside in Nashville. Her first book, You Are Not Behind: Building a Life You Love Without Having Everything You Want, is available wherever books are sold. You can connect with her on Instagram @meghanryanasbury and at AlwaysMeghan.com.