One of the greatest enemies of our faith in a moment of conflict is panic. Whether you just received a surprise announcement of a divorce or got a notice of the loss of your job or any unexpected event that alters your life profoundly, each one initially produces the same thing – an immobilizing panic. It is in the stalling effect of panic that hell delivers the crippling effects of panic that can take us out of the fight before it even begins.

This morning, as I was reading Scripture, I came across the following verses. Israel was getting ready to go into battle and was looking out at the battlefield. “Listen to me, all you men of Israel! Do not be afraid as you go out to fight your enemies today! Do not lose heart or panic or tremble before them. For the Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!” (Deuteronomy 20: 3-4). As I read the verse, the word “panic” got my attention. 

Panic in the presence of fear immobilizes our response. If we haven’t trained our faith when fear comes, we will remain immobilized and unresponsive instead of dealing with the situation that is causing our fear. The only way we can respond and not become a passive victim and allow a circumstance to slaughter our faith is to live by the words in the verses above, “For the Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!”

Knowing the presence of God is with us as we walk into the uncharted territory of spiritual, and natural conflict, is where our ultimate strength comes from. We respond to such events by employing what we have been trained to do in a time of conflict. 

We can equip our lives with the latest catchphrases of an untested faith or blindly think we will not have to face what has obviously now made its presence known. When we stand before the serious battlefields of our faith, the reality of the conflict everything changes. The immobilizing panic that will attempt to overcome our response will not be able to overcome our training and the knowledge that God is always present in the conflict no matter what we see or feel. Faith and trust in God is the only thing that can overcome our panic when an evil intent rears its ugly head. Panic will always arrive at the beginning of a time of intense battle. We need to be prepared to overcome its power by responding in faith, not fear.