Fear and Submission

"The person who lives by their fears will not find freedom in my love. I am not talking about rational fears regarding legitimate dangers, but imagined fears, and especially the projection of those into the future. To the degree that those fears have a place in your life, you neither believe I am good nor know deep in your heart that I love you. You sing about it; you talk about it, but you do not know it."

"Have you noticed that even though you call me Lord and King, I have never really acted in that capacity with you? I've never taken control of your choices or forced you to do anything, even when what you were about to do was destructive or hurtful to yourself and others?...To force my will upon you is exactly what love does not do. Genuine relationships are marked by submission even when your choices are not helpful or healthy...When I am your life, submission is the most natural expression of my character and nature, and it will be the most natural expression of your new nature within relationships."

-William P. Young ("The Shack")