“I will give you rest from all your enemies.” // 2 Samuel 7:11
Earlier this year, I attended the Blessed is She Fly retreat in Phoenix, and we were asked to identify our unique name for the Lord. Without hesitation, my heart immediately knew: the Lord is my Comforter.
If I took an inventory of my entire story with the Lord and had to sum it up in one sentence, it would be this: through withdrawal and abandonment, I have found refuge in a Love Who does not leave. The Lord has truly been my best friend in all the suffering, and somewhere along the way, I adopted a confidence that there is no heartache He will not console me through.
A few months ago, I was in the chapel and in prayer, I called the Lord, “Comforter” because I had been doing so since the retreat. I heard the Lord gently speak into my heart, “What about Protector?”
I felt so exposed in an instant.
I tried to bring myself to call the Lord, “Protector,” and I could not do it. I liked Comforter better. I liked the familiarity of believing that I actually live quite unprotected, but once I am wounded and discarded, I can trust the Lord will comfort me.
Before the Lord in prayer, I confessed to the Lord all that I felt unprotected from, and how exhausted I was from the belief that I had to be my own protector.
Sister, so often, because of our own history with disappointment, you and I begin to live out of an assumption that the Lord will not offer us protection and security. As I allow today’s reading to wash over me, I feel my grip begin to loosen, and my jaw unlocks, as I remember the promise.
The Lord wants to offer me rest from my enemies.
Once we allow Him to soften our tendencies to self-protect, we will find that in our vulnerability, we are indeed held by our Father, Who has already defeated darkness. In His hands, we are safe to rest.
Sarah Elizabeth is a graduate student studying International Security. She earned her Bachelor’s in Politics from The Catholic University of America, and now resides in the Washington, DC area with her cat, Regina. Originally from Arizona, Sarah treasures iced oat milk lattes, mountain views, and Saint John Henry Newman.
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