Is everyone insecure, or is it just me?
The only head I'm inside every day is mine, where intrusive thoughts cause me to question who I am and the worth I have in this world. But, as I talk to other people and scroll my feeds, I discover I’m not alone. Far from it!
Our social-media-addicted, overly-informed, and comparison-obsessed world predisposes us to insecurity. The filters at our fingertips and the unprecedented access we have to each other’s lives makes confidence and courage much harder.
In the face of these challenges, many of us face the temptation to fake it so we can make it through any given day. These temptations and challenges are so universal that they are even showing up in songs on Air1 like “Seen” by Tauren Wells and Katie Torwalt.
RELATED CONTENT: Tauren Wells & Katie Torwalt Team Up For ‘Seen’
Near the beginning of the song, Torwalt confesses her own struggle in this area.
“I think I'm hiding
When I put a smile on my face
There's no use in trying
Cause You look right through all my fake”
While our world tempts us away from authenticity and towards hypocrisy, Jesus sees through all our attempts to fake it. He invites us towards a different path - freedom and honesty with Him.
When this song launched, Wells shared the message he hoped listeners received through the song. “Your past mistakes and triumphs, your present struggles and strengths will be used by God when they are surrendered to God…You have permission to throw off fear, insecurity, or the doubt that holds you back. You have permission to become all that God has called you to be.”
During the song’s first verse, Wells transparently shares his own struggle with insecurity and how God met him in it. “When I'm blinded by lies, You remind me of who I am”
I don’t know what lies you hear most often, but there are three lies that I hear more than any other. “No one sees me. No one really knows me. No one cares about me.”
In my life with Jesus, I’ve discovered one of the most fundamental works I have each day is replacing the lies of the enemy with the truth of Scripture.
When I hear the lie “no one sees me,” I turn to Genesis 16 and read about Hagar naming God “El Roi” which means “the God who sees me.”
When I hear the lie “no one really knows me,” I turn to Psalm 139 and remind myself that God knitted me together in my mother’s womb, numbering every hair on my head. There is nowhere I can flee from His presence.
When I hear the lie “no one cares about me,” I turn to Romans 8 and read about how I’ve been adopted in God’s family and how nothing can separate me from God’s love.
“Seen” has enjoyed such popularity because it speaks truth to the lies our enemy speaks through our culture and devices. In the chorus, Torwalt and Wells declare good news to us.
“You see the best in me
Through every broken piece
I've got nothing to prove
I'm already loved by You”
Listening to this song on repeat has been a musical companion to a meditation I found late last year. As someone who has battled insecurity, I gravitated towards some words which reinforced the truth of Scripture. I found them in a short poem written by Bobby Schuller.
“I am not what I do
I am not what I have
I am not what people say about me
I am the beloved of God
Nothing can take that away from me
I don’t need to worry
I don’t need to hurry
I can trust my friend, Jesus
And share his love with the world.”
We often hear sermons about our salvation being secure, but this meditation and the words of the Bible remind us that our identity in Christ is secure too. Paul ends his beautiful words in Romans 8 with a reminder of our secure identity in God’s love.
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
If you sometimes feel insecure like me, then I would encourage you to do what “Seen” points us towards. Return to the Scriptures which speak to our identity in Christ. Memorize a meditation like the one Bobby Schuller wrote. Listen to a song like “Seen,” on repeat if necessary. And allow what God says about you to become the truest thing about you.
You are seen. You are known. You are loved by your Creator and Savior!
Scott Savage is a pastor, author, and speaker with the best last name in the world. Scott’s writing helps you laugh, challenges you to think, and invites you to grow. He leads Cornerstone Church in Prescott, Arizona, and watches lots of movies with his wife and three kids. You can learn more about Scott’s new free resource, The Path Away from Shame, at scottsavagelive.com
