Fight or Flight
“The next time you see something that’s broken or not working as well as you think it should OR wish it would let it be God’s reminder that such brokenness is NOTHING BUT A YARDSICK OF HOW FAR HIS GOODNESS will ultimately reach!” Flight or Fight by Joel Belz WORLD Magazine 12-23-06
The year is closing, coming to an end of days and bringing out a new calendar with few events filled in for the coming year. Through God’s mercy, I have been given “this” ministry ten years down the road, with wonder (and what remembrance fails to pass) and wonderment at the privilege to have friends around the world – family members of the “Body” who suffer when I suffer and who truly carry the burden to the throne room and throw it at the mercy of our Living God.
A few hours before leaving the “old” world I heard from my two of my children (G & A) – the emotional wheel went from family situational hysteria to “I’m not leaving – I need to work it out here.” I saw such God discernment as well as reflection.
Before we turn our hearts and lives over to the Creator we NEED our lives to “work out”. We NEED to believe we can come up with the incantation of emotion that will fix our heart and modify the behavior of the injuring party. We NEED to believe the alcohol or drug or sex will fill the deep need and make us feel okay, happy, satisfied, full of purpose and plan –
I told my hysterical daughter “Come home. Besides, I have so many gifts to give you. They are waiting for you here. I can’t wait to see your face when you open them.” Immediately the Father brought to my heart (broken for my sobbing daughter) how much He offers to each of His children – “Come home. I have so much to share with you. I want to see your face when I give you these things.”
There is a terminology in psychiatric circles referred to as the “Fight or Flight” syndrome. When a person feels under attack, the body produces a stimulant to help carry out the appropriate reaction to maintain safety. Our spiritual condition helps us determine more accurately when we are stuck, fighting to be our own God, or when we have the strength to turn tail and take “flight” into the shelter of His wings. My heart broke for her. She wants so badly to do life her way, without the Creator being the God and Master of her fate. When she fails to succeed there is only herself being her own God to blame in abject frustration.
It triggered my own thoughts of failure, trying so hard to do life with what little emotional foundation I had been given. Perhaps “this ministry” I have been given, is to lay a foundation of value, worthiness, and worthwhile remembrance. I have an opportunity to say to children orphaned by tragedy or circumstance “You are not alone, there is a God who has called your name and given you a purpose to fulfill. Seek Him, find His plan - for IT will bring you life and a hope you never thought you could have because of who and where you came from!”
It is not about you (or me) – it is ALL always about Him.
The year is closing, coming to an end of days and bringing out a new calendar with few events filled in for the coming year. Through God’s mercy, I have been given “this” ministry ten years down the road, with wonder (and what remembrance fails to pass) and wonderment at the privilege to have friends around the world – family members of the “Body” who suffer when I suffer and who truly carry the burden to the throne room and throw it at the mercy of our Living God.
A few hours before leaving the “old” world I heard from my two of my children (G & A) – the emotional wheel went from family situational hysteria to “I’m not leaving – I need to work it out here.” I saw such God discernment as well as reflection.
Before we turn our hearts and lives over to the Creator we NEED our lives to “work out”. We NEED to believe we can come up with the incantation of emotion that will fix our heart and modify the behavior of the injuring party. We NEED to believe the alcohol or drug or sex will fill the deep need and make us feel okay, happy, satisfied, full of purpose and plan –
I told my hysterical daughter “Come home. Besides, I have so many gifts to give you. They are waiting for you here. I can’t wait to see your face when you open them.” Immediately the Father brought to my heart (broken for my sobbing daughter) how much He offers to each of His children – “Come home. I have so much to share with you. I want to see your face when I give you these things.”
There is a terminology in psychiatric circles referred to as the “Fight or Flight” syndrome. When a person feels under attack, the body produces a stimulant to help carry out the appropriate reaction to maintain safety. Our spiritual condition helps us determine more accurately when we are stuck, fighting to be our own God, or when we have the strength to turn tail and take “flight” into the shelter of His wings. My heart broke for her. She wants so badly to do life her way, without the Creator being the God and Master of her fate. When she fails to succeed there is only herself being her own God to blame in abject frustration.
It triggered my own thoughts of failure, trying so hard to do life with what little emotional foundation I had been given. Perhaps “this ministry” I have been given, is to lay a foundation of value, worthiness, and worthwhile remembrance. I have an opportunity to say to children orphaned by tragedy or circumstance “You are not alone, there is a God who has called your name and given you a purpose to fulfill. Seek Him, find His plan - for IT will bring you life and a hope you never thought you could have because of who and where you came from!”
It is not about you (or me) – it is ALL always about Him.
