Fight-Flight-Freeze

Fight

But if you bite and devour one other, take heed that you are not consumed by one another. Galatians 5:15

Watching animals in the wild hunt, defend, and fight for territory can be brutal. We are not wild animals, but it might pay to stop and think about whether we are, at times, acting like them!

Surely, a quick glance scrolling through social media or watching the nightly news and it can become hard to differentiate between the person and the beast!

God doesn’t call us to be the judge of what others say or do, he wants us to have control of ourselves.

When we start to assume or say unkind things about people, it can be the start of an attack on character or a judgement of the way things are being done. Instead of being ready to attack or defend our territory, we should be quick to forgive, to try and understand others’ perspectives, and stay out of the danger of judgement.

Always let grace win.

Flight

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5:21

In a world of equal opportunity and pursuit for equality, submission can be a tough pill to swallow!

Perhaps there are just too many hang-ups with that word in English.

The way Scripture wants us to understand submission is perhaps best explained when thinking about its antonym. The opposite of submission is resistance, and this is where all sorts of trouble can brew! If you think of some recent disagreements you may have had, you were probably resisting the idea, emotions, or actions of someone else. While you have equally valid ideas, emotions, and actions, lean into the love of Christ and learn to gracefully respect this as a “difference,” (not necessarily agreeance,) so His grace can be experienced through you.

Always let grace win.

Freeze

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord for ever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. Isaiah 26:3

Fear and peace cannot co-exist.

It is impossible!

One fills us with unease and anxiety. It feeds off difficult situations. The other allows us to rest and breathe deeply despite our situations.

Perfect peace is a doorway to joy and true contentment.

In order to experience perfect peace, it is crucial to trust God, to be obedient to His teachings, and to take hope in His promises. Without fully trusting Him, true peace is impossible to grasp.

Jesus is the Prince of Peace.

When fear, doubt, and worry rear their ugly heads, the only way to drive them away is with His peace. It does not eliminate the hardships, but it gives us the courage & the grace to survive them.

Always let grace win!

hugs n’ blessings to those who keep their eyes solely on Him, and thereby always let grace win!