Fight or flight or…
I’m sure you’ve heard of the fight or flight response. It was first observed in animals faced with a harmful or dangerous situation, but my guess is that you’ve experienced it, too. The sweaty hands, increased heart rate, tunnel vision, and the need to either hit or run.
It’s a very natural response and one that we were made to experience. But I believe that the One who made us that way also made us with something that animals don’t have: the power to respond instead of react.
Fight or flight isn’t a choice as much as a reaction. But what if the ability to choose could open the door to a third option, one that is more supernatural than the two with which we’re usually presented? What if the overwhelming circumstances we experience are actually opportunities to invite God’s power into the situations?
God’s people faced a fight or flight moment in Exodus 14. Stuck between a sea that would drown them and an army that would kill them, they felt the fight or flight responses kicking in. The problem, of course, was that they could realistically do neither. They couldn’t fight the army because they were outnumbered, and they couldn’t run away because the sea was stopping them.
Moses suggested our third option: invite God into the situation.
But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid (no fight). Just stand still (no flight) and watch the Lord rescue you today (just invite)…The Lord Himself will fight for you. Just stay calm. (Exodus 14:13-14, emphasis mine)
Can I encourage you to invite the God who made you into the circumstances that are making you afraid, anxious, or angry? It’s natural to want to run or retaliate. It’s supernatural to choose to rest and stay calm as God fights for you.
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