Fear Part #2 — The Fear of Imminent Danger

Fear of imminent danger is the natural emotion which we feel when a criminal comes along and sticks a gun in our face, or a drunk swerves from the opposing lane into ours, and all other such occasions where life or personal safety is somehow threatened. Sometimes a threat lacks the presence of a human agent such as an animal attack, a natural disaster, or similar events. But regardless of how that danger presents itself (real or imagined), we occasionally perceive a threat of immediate grievous bodily harm to ourselves, our loved ones, and/or to a lesser extent the loss of our property and the aftermath of such a loss.

This kind of fear is the inevitable reaction.

Psychologists and physiologists call this type of fear the “fight, flight, or freeze” emotion. In other words, our immediate physical and mental reaction to an imminent threat will see us either getting angry and fighting back with abandon, running in terror for our lives, or being paralyzed into inaction like a deer caught in the headlights.

This kind of fear is absolutely normal. From the moment of Adam and Eve’s Rebellion in Eden, God somehow rewired us with that capability. Lizard-brain fear is actually a gift from God — a blessing, if you will — because, out of His love for His highest creation, it’s designed to keep us alive and undamaged instead of crippled or pushing up daisies.

Such fear causes us to take safety precautions to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our property. It leads us to not touch extremely hot things because it will damage us through burny-burny. It keeps us from playing with poisonous snakes (unless we’re being colossally stupid on YouTube) because their venom is extremely toxic, even deadly. We lock our doors at night. We fasten our seatbelts when we drive. We consider safely ratings when selecting cars and other goods. We employ the proper methods and use the necessary tools to secure our foodstuffs from bears when camping. We don’t walk down dark alleys in the inner city. We use the safety mechanisms on our power tools and take appropriate care when using them.

We call that “wisdom.”

Our tendency to run or freeze can be mitigated — even programmed out of us — through quality instruction coupled with diligent practice. This is why all military personnel and first responders undergo intense training. They do this so they will immediately “do the right thing” when faced with a situation presenting a real and present danger to their mission, unit, vehicle, or folks in their care.

Pilots frequently train in simulators where various in-flight emergencies are repeatedly presented so they will instinctively take the corrective actions required to keep both themselves and their passengers alive if/when the real thing ever arises (unless you’re skydiving, your number of safe landings should always equal your number of takeoffs! You don’t need a parachute to skydive; you only need one to skydive more than once. 😂).

All that being said, you can train until the cows come home yet you will never truly know how you are going to react to bullets flying past you until bullets are actually flying past you. Training simply stacks the odds more highly in your favor when the proverbial effluent hits the proverbial oscillating air circulation device.

In summary, those who harness their fear and react with skill and elán statistically tend to survive better than those who cower or flee.

All this carries over into the spirit realm. Since I’ve covered this thoroughly in several articles here on Miscellaneous Ramblings, I’ll let them carry that ball over the goal line:

Here are some promises you can stand upon. Memorizing and meditating on them will help you when disaster appears imminent.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?…Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident.
Psalm 27:1,3

Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes;Proverbs 3:25

Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For YHWH, the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.
Isaiah 12:2

I’ll summarize them here by saying that, if you have the opportunity to speak in the face of such circumstances, shouting “JESUS!” instead of “OH, SH-T!” is a far more effective response. Here’s my scriptural support for that statement:

For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord [in prayer] will be saved.”
Romans 10:13 AMP

saved (sozo): to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction; to save one (from injury or peril) to save a suffering one (from perishing), i.e. one suffering from disease, to make well, heal, restore to health
to preserve one who is in danger of destruction, to save or rescue to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment
to save from the evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic deliverance

You can indeed have what you say!

Thanks for reading!

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