When the Way to Fight is to Be Still...

Fight, Flight or Freeze. The three taught responses humans will experience when faced with trauma or a crisis. Interestingly enough, I just finished a course in trauma and crisis and these three responses were vaguely discussed. For me, I transition from Freeze to Fight. I may freeze for a moment but then I come out fighting hard and reckless. This is my natural response whenever I find myself in a situation that is out of my control. All of us have natural responses to situations where we feel we are not in control and our access to resources and normal means of survival are out of reach, so what happens when God instructs you to do the complete opposite of your natural response? During a time where your whole world is chaotic, your environment seems unsafe and threatening, and your flesh is screaming, “This is life or death!” but God has shared, “Yeah but I need you to do the complete opposite of what you want to do.”

Depending on the situation, scientifically, our brains may not be wired to do this on the spot but we were not created by a scientific God, but a Supernatural one. Studies have shown that resilience is the only identifiable variable between those that suffers long-term mental health implications and those able to properly deal, cope and move on when faced with a traumatic event/crisis. Despite resilience being measured differently in these studies, faith/religion/spirituality were concluded as major contributions to increased resilience because their means of resources are internal therefore always accessible. So, what does this mean for our Christian faith? God has already prepared us with the resources and tools to listen, endure and take heed to His command in the face of crisis. For Christians, God’s Word and His promises are our means of finding rest during the storm. Access to His Word He has given us is never out of reach.

As stated, my natural response is freeze then fight, so when God told me, “I am commanding you to be still and be silent,” during a time in my life where my future felt threatened and His promise to me appeared inconceivable, for a second, I thought, “God, I thought you knew me.” There are multiple ways I usually respond, most maladaptive, but all dishonoring to God, it was the latter that made me think two-three-four times before acting upon them. But the command of “being silent”, well that required much more spiritual discipline than I would like to admit. For those of you who know me, I am talker and if I have felt wronged or attacked, I will let you know. My highest flaw is when my flesh has convinced me that enough time has passed, the tension has laxed and I believe all is fine, then I speak what I wish I would’ve spoke sooner (latter disobedience is still disobedience). Be still and be silent.

With so much fighting energy in me, I asked, “Who am I am supposed to be praying and fighting against? The enemy? Well how do you want me to fight him?” God answered, “Being still and being silent. This is My fight, not yours.” For some this is a great thing to hear, but for the tussler in me, not so much, might as well tell a frog not to leap and a lion not to roar.

When armies were coming to fight the Israelites, God instructed them to do the same, “Position yourselves, stand still…” (2 Chronicles 20:17). God told them that they will see the armies coming their way but to not do anything because it was His fight, not theirs. As the Israelites saw the multitude of armies coming at them, instead of calling out to them and fighting, they sung unto The Lord. God defeated the armies by having them turn against each other. The Israelites were able to see The Lord’s salvation and retrieve so much valuable plunder from the dead armies that it took them three days to gather it all, all without breaking a sweat nor lifting a finger. (2 Chronicles 20:1-25)

When God has a command for us that goes against our nature, based on this story, there are three things He has planned: increase our trust in Him of His faithfulness and delivering power with our lives, bless us with plunder, rewards and blessings that goes beyond anything we could ever imagine and remind us that He is God. These commands are to not take away from us nor make us feel powerless but rather to empower us because of who our God is. There will be times when He calls us to move, with Him fighting through us, but there are times when He will call us to position ourselves and stand still so that He can be the only One moving, where His glory will go undeniably seen before all, believers and unbelievers, those faith-filled and those faith-lacking. Therefore, I encourage you: when the time comes where God has instructed you to go against your nature, trust Him. There is glory He is seeking through your obedience. Remind yourselves that if God has instructed you to do this, then He has already prepared you up until that point and has prepared you to go through it. Remain Encouraged that there will be plunder to gather in the end.