Fight or Flight

 Ps 11:1 ¶ <> In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
 Ps 11:2 For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.
 Ps 11:3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
 Ps 11:4 ¶ The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
 Ps 11:5 The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.


I am loving the Psalms because they give me such a rich prayer language.  Today I read Psalm 11 above and realized that it is a perfect prescription for stress. Stress has been described as the body's involuntary response to perceived danger.  The body instinctively prepares to flee or to fight when there is a threat, real or imagined.

The first verse of this Psalm talks about the Flight response.  David says, "I am not going to yield to the temptation to escape life or to run from my problems.  I am not going to let the threat of the moment cause me to shrink back from my destiny and purpose.  I am trusting in God for the results as I face things head on.

The next verse describes the attack of the enemy.  I see this as more than conflict with people; it describes the warfare in the mind.  The devil lines up all kinds of negative, defeatist, and evil thinking to try to separate us from God and His plan for us.

Verse Three talks about the importance of staying centered on the foundational truth of the gospel: God loves me, God deserves to be praised and worshiped, God will never leave me, God has a plan for me, God requires obedience and forgiveness of others, God will love and forgive me even if I mess up.  The entire warfare of the enemy of our souls is to get us off that foundation.  When we entertain ideas of either our own prideful estimation or our rejection and failure, the enemy has us off our foundation and can attack us at will.

Verse Four talks about how the Lord is well aware of everything that we face and are going through.  He allows what happens for our character development and dependence on Him.  He is the master of "ultimate justice"--God is able to bring about total restoration and healing and the defeat of all our enemies, inside us and outside of us.

Verse Five embraces the other end of the stress response--the fight response.  God hates violence and using physical or verbal violence to control or overwhelm others is something He works against.  He will provide ultimate justice to those who pursue violence as a means of getting their way.  Thankfully, He can also deliver the violent person from using violence and teach them to deal with stress by trusting on Him.

God's word is so practical.  When we trust on Him fully, we are psychologically healthy and able to deal with life in a positive way.  When we are in intimate fellowship with Him, He helps us to overcome our natural flight-or-fight tendencies to become proactive adults.