safe.

When you hear or see the word "safe" what comes to mind? A locked box hidden in a wall that protects your valuables? An umpire in a baseball game as the player slides home? Safety takes many forms. What does it look like for you? What makes you feel safe?

I have become convinced in the past several years that safety is a fundamental need for most humans. We need to feel safe. We need to feel that, whatever happens, we are protected. We need physical safety. We need the assurance that our physical bodies are not going to be in danger from violence, disease, or disaster. We seek out protection and treatment and assistance, and when those fail, our world shifts. A perceived lack of physical safety can cause fear and despair, and can also bring strength and new resolve. Safety is important.

We need emotional safety. We need to feel that our friends are "safe places" for our hearts. We need our families and homes to safeguard us and make sure we are protected from a world that would destroy us. We need to feel safe in our relationships and when we don't, that can lead to fear and mistrust and pain. When we do not feel emotionally safe, we can become insecure, unstable, and our confidence can wane. Safety is important.

We need spiritual safety. We need to be able to trust our souls to our Creator. We need to give our hurts, our confusion, our bitterness, our anger and hate...all of it...to the Lover of our souls. Spiritual safety only comes through complete surrender and confidence in the One who made us. When our confidence is in Jesus, we can trust Him for all of our physical and emotional needs...safety in Christ is the full package!

I am so glad that I can trust everything in my life to Christ. I know that in my humanity, I need to feel physically and emotionally safe. I am learning that if I trust Him with ALL of that, He provides security, safety and protection beyond what I could have found anywhere else. Nothing surprises Him and He is not worried. I can trust that He will do all things for my good, and my trust is in Him.