Have you ever given in to panic?
Boy howdy, have I. And it lead to fear-mongering in my heart and sin. Once, during a particularly vexing time when I faced an enemy of sorts, I panicked, retaliated in kind, and made a mess of things. My panic gave my “enemy” more fuel to hate me. Not a fun encounter, to be sure.
So I get panic.
I do panic.
I’ve languished in the land of panic.
But I don’t want to give into panic as I have in the past. Why? Read on.
Thankfully, God offers me a principle, a secret, to overcome panic: resting in God’s deliverance. And for that, I look to Gideon from Old Testament fame–the reluctant commander who would eventually deliver Israel from its enemies.
Gideon isn’t much of a poster child for a less panicked life. He didn’t recognize the Angel of the Lord right away, called him “sir.” And he asked for signs right and left to make sure it was God who spoke to him. Prone to panic, he was.
But he learned a secret.
God acts on our behalf when circumstances seems impossible.
Stop and re-read that sentence, let it sink into your bones.
With only 300 men, Gideon routed thousands and thousands of enemies because God fought for them. “When the 300 Israelites blew their rams’ horns, the Lord caused the warriors in the camp to fight against each other with their swords” (Judges 7:22, NLT).
The result of all this? Peace–not panic.
“Throughout the rest of Gideon’s lifetime–about forty years–there was peace in Israel” (Judges 8:28, NLT).
We can have peace. We don’t need to give into panic. To do so is to discover, then live the secret that God acts broadly on our behalf, particularly when the impossible looms ahead.
What about you? When have you given into panic? When have you learned that God acts on your behalf, and how as that brought peace? I look forward to your stories.
