Long ago… let’s say it was during freshman Biology class… I learned about the “fight or flight” response.
The idea behind this response is that when an animal (including the human animal) is confronted by a life-threatening situation, the adrenal glands release hormones that cause the animal to either stand up and FIGHT against the threat or turn around and FLEE from it.
After my first fist-fight in elementary school, I think my internal switch became permanently stuck in the “FLIGHT” position.
Ensuring the survival of the species is the main reason this response mechanism was included in our wiring. As qualities go, I am sure God did not have to fret and stew over this one very much. It was the classic “no brainer.”
As rational and useful as fight or flight is, I wonder if we might be ignoring a third option… the one that has been made available to us when we face dire, dangerous, scary situations…
… What about the PRAY option?
I can hear the voices of the skeptical even now, saying, “Good luck with that, Russell. You go right ahead and kneel down in the woods while that 600-pound grizzly bear is charging at you. Let me know how that works out.”
And yes, just about every believer who has mentioned the Third Option in connection with the current coronavirus pandemic has been roundly jeered. “Oh sure… let’s just get together and PRAY the virus away!” they say, usually followed by a cynical shake of the head.
And yes I agree… if we understand prayer as a mystical tug on God’s shirtsleeve in order to get God’s attention and persuade him to take some kind of supernatural action, it is a rather ridiculous proposition.
If, on the other hand, we see prayer as a connecting and aligning action, I believe it sheds a whole new light on things. Prayer – as I see it – is the effort by the flawed, limited, sinful human being that is me to connect my tiny perspective with God’s infinite outlook. When I pray, I am aligning God’s infallible plumb line to my warped, wavy life to see exactly where I fall short and where I need some critical correction.
Speaking solely for myself, I know that when things get stressful in my life, I tend to flip the telescope around and try to take a narrower and narrower view of the world. Maybe I believe life will be more manageable if I reduce my field of vision as much as possible.
At times like this, we are called to remember that God’s view – because God is God – is always wider, always deeper, always more inclusive than yours or mine could ever hope to be. There are facets of every situation that, while invisible to our eyes, are perfectly clear to the One Who Made Us.
With this disease spreading faster and becoming more deadly every day, it is really hard to see beyond the two options of either fighting it or fleeing it.
It might just be that this is one of those times that are tailor-made for Option Number Three.
As we are reminded in Philippians 4:6 – “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
Abundant blessings;
As most of us take a moment today to celebrate the 50thanniversary of the landing of human beings on the surface of our moon, nearly 20 million of our neighbors are standing up yelling, “Fake news!”
Russellings of the Spirit 