Sirach 2:12-18. "Woe to timid hearts and to slack hands, and to the sinner who walks along two ways!" Faint hearts have no trust, those who lose endurance will not be able to withstand God's punishment. But those who fear the Lord will obey his words and seek his approval, and thus will keep his ways and be filled with the law. They will prepare their hearts and will humble themselves. So "Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, but not into the hands of men."

There is so much here that I want to write to write about! First, timidy, fear, and faint hearts are all signs of a lack of trust. God understands that we feel them - that is why Jesus told us so often to "Be not afraid," but if we truly understood God's love for us we would know that everything happens in accord with his plan, which is only for good, and therefore we have no need to fear. Does that mean bad things won't happen? Of course not They absolutely will, we can be assured of that (we fell, remember?). It means don't let the bad things pull you away from God - he knows about them, he will use them for good, and even when we suffer here (and we do and will), it is used for good by him who never wanted us to suffer in the first place. So trust alleviates fear, not suffering, and fear is a component of so much of the suffering we face - the fear of future suffering causes our anxiety and stress in the present. That all goes away when we trust - then we only have to suffer through what actually happens, rather than what our minds and the devil (often through other people) create as worries in our minds!

Second, the "sinner who walks along two ways" reminds me of my thoughts on quantum physics and James's letter where he warns against being of two minds, and thus being like a wave on the sea - tossed about without guidance, and thus unable to receive God's wisdom.

Lastly, following God's laws creates humility. We often don't know why God would want us to follow his laws when they seem like they are causing us suffering, and we don't see the purpose. That is the first step to pride and the Fall (just ask Adam and Eve why they couldn't eat that apple - it made no sense, right?!) We don't know the plan, we don't know what's going on, we really are like sheep! God does know the plan, he does know what's going on, and he is the Good Shepherd. He will lead us along these blind paths we are on, but we have to be humble enough to do what he says even when we don't understand why - and we very frequently do not! That is the only way through all of this.

So, having made all of these realizations, "Let us fall into the hands of the Lord." It is the only true "safe space."