Love, Trust, and Safety

"Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you.....Do not fear, for I am with you."  ~ Isaiah 43:4-5

Remember  1 John 4:18?  "...perfect love casts out fear..."

With perfection of love comes perfection of protection.  It took me a long while to stop struggling against this truth. I recently read a quote by C.S. Lewis that sums up my struggle:

"We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be."   ~ C.S. Lewis.

I struggled immensely against God's definitions of "good", "best", and "safe" as pertains specifically to me.  I didn't want to submit to His definitions; I wanted Him to submit to mine.  I had what I was sure was a better plan for my protection and I would not give it up.  I was too afraid to trust in His because His didn't look safe enough for me.  Then one day I found myself in a great deal of physical pain, and indeed, a long season of many kinds of pain (which I have yet to write about here) and through a "jump start", the "help of His presence" (Psalm 42:5) was proven true for me.  I found comfort in His love and presence. I let the physical pain all go from within my grasp and placed the full weight of it and my fear of it onto Him.  I got a taste of what He means by "Trust Me."

When I TRUST in His love,I realize that I am safe.  We are safe.  Not just a measure of safe, or "safe-enough-by-His-definition-but-not-by-mine-thank-you-very-much".  We are safe.  We still have to go through the hard stuff.  (There's the rub!) What we face will probably still be hard.  It might hurt.  But we are safe under His love. 

We really have only two choices. 
1. We can run up close to Him under the shelter of His wings.
-or-
2. We can stay out in the open doing battle with our challenges and fears all alone, vulnerable to their taunts and succumbing to their powers. 

TRUST HIS LOVE.  When I give up the fight of insisting He give me a "better deal", a more inclusive guarantee, and strip it down to the simplicity of those two choices, then it's an easy choice really.  Do I want to face this scary thing WITHOUT HIM or WITH HIM?  If I choose to go through it without Him then I can expect no peace, no easing of my fears, no comfort.  I can expect continued fear through every step of the process.  If I choose to go through it with Him, I still have to go through it, BUT, if I hand over my stubborn will and my fear to Him, I will receive peace, comfort for my fear, plus the confidence that I am safe.