“Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion.” “Ooh” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion”…”Safe?” said Mr Beaver …”Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
i remember the first time this story was recounted to me in my young adult years, a woman with dark shiny hair and piercing eyes shared this quote above as such a strong part of her daily encouragement on her rocky life journey, at the time going through a terrible separation from her husband of many years who had been having an affair.
i had read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe many years prior, and like many books, tales and quotes go, it seems one cannot quite connect to the essence of their powerful message until one travels directly into the heart of the matter being spoken about.
he is not safe!
but he is good.
this is at least true in my own life, and i feel it is true for many others i travel alongside as well. my friend Robin always seems to travel a few steps before me up the mountain of intense understanding, a sherpa looking back and offering a hand up, where then we both sit for awhile, working our way through the similar themes that life has given us, supporting however we can.
i used to cry out against the idea of God not being ‘safe’.
“give me a safe God!”
“a God i can trust that will keep me from all hardship!”
“protect me from all discomfort and lead me down a path of thornless roses!”
what i have come to understand in my journey is that ‘goodness’ far outweighs ‘safety’.
this is coming from a soul who despises conflict of any kind, used to retreat at the first sign of attack, often crumbling at the suggestion of infliction. so, this lesson learned, in and of itself is a true miracle.
God, in the gentle way that he does, continually holds my hand, leading me to higher ground and victories gained. as well as those around me.
he is not safe!
but he is good.
thorough the years, too numerous to recall are the very ‘unsafe’ situations both myself and my friends have found themselves passing through.
losing a child, both born and unborn.
divorce.
cancer and heart attacks taking our parents to seemingly untimely graves.
shattered dreams and lost jobs.
cheating husbands and wives who walk out on the men that adore them.
car accidents and disasters.
paralyzations and drug overdoses.
wayward pastors and church elders who lie, steal and disappoint.
bullied children.
alcohol abuse and rehab.
suicides.
verbal and physical beatings.
losing homes.
bankruptcy.
illness.
mental torment.
and this is just a small list within my tribe.
there seems so be zero safety in these situations, posing the ever popular question of “where is God?” this all seems so unsafe to trust this kind of God with.
in my experience, God, who seems to be on the back burner in this all, is actually in the forefront working on our behalf, even through the tormented hell of it all. it sure as hell doesn’t feel ‘safe’ by any stretch of the word, and that is because it is indeed not.
what he IS though, is good.
these horrendous and grievous situations and circumstances may not be good in themselves, but the goodness that seeps out of them if we will let ourselves be pressed through the narrow and harsh winepress, will most often result in a much different perspective.
he is not safe!
but he is good.
Horatio Spafford comes to mind, the author of my most favorite song ‘it is well with my soul’. the man lost every child he had ever fathered, in the most tragic of ways possible, yet the song that was wrenched from his grieving soul forever changed the world, serving as the most giant comfort to the condition of those in that place of tremendous loss.
he seemed to contend that God was not ‘safe’ either, as who would be alright with losing their only son to an illness and their 4 daughters to a sinking boat? BUT- through it all he, as he birthed this famous hymn, he came to the place of realizing that God was good in spite of it all, and pressed mightily into the comfort that he would be held through it all, that the goodness of God would ultimately shine through.
the outpouring of stories from both my life and the friends around me are a testimony to the power of goodness triumphing safety.
although i have yet to meet an honest person who would choose goodness over safety, though we didn’t sign up for this, the character development that happens through our loss and grief, provision and paths opening up before their often unbelieving eyes leaves me emotional and speechless. the connection we feel to each other and God if we open ourselves up, the new life that wants to spring forth from what seems like dirty and useless ground! the creative works, projects, funds and charities that change the world were only ushered into existence through pain and loss.
he is not safe!
but he is good.
while ‘goodness’ can not bring back our lost ones or erase our pain like a magic marker, it can indeed propel us into a season of living fully again, a new way of being. our spirit, gifts and stories can become a safe haven for others if we let ourselves become tools.
so with no guarantee of safety, we forge ahead, upward and onward, trusting that the goodness we require to hold us will indeed be strong enough, and that our wounds may be used to saddle up to our hurting neighbors with fresh life to breath into their tired lungs, that we may be used to be the hand that turns around to offer assistance up to the next level of the mountain path.
it is well.
all is well.
image: by Michael Mullan christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/january/humanprototype.html