Question3: How can I achieve stability and security?

It's been said that "nothing good ever lasts."  In fact, apart from God, His Word and human souls, nothing lasts.  The circumstances of our lives are like flashes of lightning.  As soon as we fix our eyes on them and try to preserve them, they're gone, leaving behind only the rumbling thunder of our nostalgic memories.  John Mayer sings a song called "Stop This Train" wherein he laments the speed of life and the uncertainty of his future:

Stop this train, I want to get off and go home again. 

I can't take the speed it's moving in. 

I know I can't, but honestly, won't someone stop this train?

 Later in the song, John asks his dad about slowing life down, to which his father wisely replies, "John, honestly, we'll never stop this train."  Life charges on like a speeding freight train, its twists and turns often unpredictable and disappointing.  Our family recently visited Universal Studios, and I must say that the 4-D King Kong ride was very realistic!  Children were crying, but I couldn't help but notice that no adults were crying.  This was because the adults knew something the children didn't:  First, we were in a controlled environment, and second, the ride would soon be over.  Rides are only fun because no matter how crazy it gets, we know we're not going to get hurt and that the ride will be over in a matter of minutes.  But life is not a carnival ride.  It has its ups and downs, yes, but there's no way of knowing how bad it will get or how long it will last.  Life has been known to throw people terrible trials and unbearable pain that never seem to let up.

It's not hard to understand why people can adopt a pessimistic, nihilistic outlook on life, despairing at the perceived pointlessness of their existence.  But life need not be discouraging, frustrating or pointless. The truth is that we all desire security and stability.  We all want to know that "everything's gonna be okay."  But it's only in Jesus that we can know this.  Isaiah wrote of Jesus, "He will be the stability of your times." Christ has a stabilizing effect on the lives of his people: "The effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings." (Isaiah 32:17-18).  Those who chase after the treasures of this world will only be plagued by uncertainty concerning their future and hopelessness regarding their existence.  "When the wicked dies, his hope will perish, and the expectation of wealth perishes too" (Proverbs 11:7).  Not much room for optimism.  But those who run after Christ discover the indescribable blessings of security, stability and peace. 

Only in Christ can you be like an adult on the King Kong ride.  Concerning your environment, you'll know that nothing can harm you or separate you from God's love. "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them" (Psalm 34:7).  And regarding the course and outcome of your life, you'll have a stability with the Lord that no man can counterfeit and no trial can upset.   David's prayer from Psalm 143:10 truly becomes a blessed reality for the child of God:  "Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground" (Ps 143:10).  After all, what could be more stable than level ground?