God's First Responder & Emergency Response Team

When you find yourself going through trials or afflictions, what is your first response?  Do you worry, become fearful, feel anxious or even panic?  Do you feel angry?  Do you shut down, become quiet and withdrawn?  Do you turn to food or other forms of self-medication?

If your like me, at one time or another, your initial response to trials or afflictions can be any one of these emotions or actions...

There are certainly situations that warrant initial responses of fear and panic; like having a child go missing; receiving news that a loved one has been in a serious car accident; hearing a terminal diagnosis; confronting an intruder;  or finding yourself in a life-threatening situation.

In fact, the Lord has wired His creatures, including His children, with a flight of fright response which is controlled by the sympathetic nervous system; the part of the body that controls how it responds to a perceived threat.  Once triggered, the body produces adrenaline which causes the brain to become more alert while increasing the heart rate, speeding up the body, and tensing and contracting muscles.

Both my parents, me and my children got a little extra wiring in the sympathetic nervous system department.  lol.  We tend to go into flight or fright mode when the threat is insignificant.  For me it is doctor's appointments which can drive my heart rate and blood pressure up through the roof, as if I were being chased by a lion!  lol.

Apparently, there are positives to my hyper sympathetic nervous system.  My doctor once told me that he would want me around in an emergency because I have such a heightened response to threatening situations and will leap into action.  lol.  Actually, one such time, when my daughter was a toddler, she climbed up her bureau which then fell back on top of her.  Indeed, I did leap into action and lifted the bureau off of her with one arm; strength I did not know I had!  {My daughter was okay, but her lip bled for quite a while, as lips do...}

It is truly amazing how God has created our body's with such an incredible built in form of protection.

But God has also sealed those who are in Christ Jesus with the indwelling Holy Spirit, the protector of our souls.

The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?

Psalm 118:6

Our society also has measures in place to provide help and to protect...

Merriam-Webster defines First Responder as "a person (as a police officer or an EMT) who is among those responsible for going immediately to the scene of an accident or emergency to provide assistance.

The emergency response team shows up soon after with Fire and Rescue.

The Holy Spirit is our First Responder in times of testing - in trials, afflictions and temptations.

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

John 14:26

He is that still small voice that whispers peace in our ears...

Dictionary of Bible Themes says...
"The Holy Spirit brings a sense of well-being, contentment and wholeness to believers whatever their outward circumstances. Peace is therefore an indication of the Holy Spirit’s presence."

 The Holy Spirit brings us that peace through God's Emergency Response Team:

His Son

His Word

His Faithfulness

His People

His Son
Through prayer, we have 24/7 access to our Lord and Savior.  We can come to Him with our need, no matter how great or small, and Jesus will settle us with His love and peace.

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:15-16

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  

Psalm 46:1

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  

Matthew 11:28

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

Isaiah 26:3

For me, it's the big things, those that feel overwhelming, where my first response IS to cry out to the Lord in prayer.

One such time happened when my doctor detected something unusual with my EKG.  So much so that he booked an appointment for me to see a cardiologist - immediately!  I remember as the doctor was speaking those words, the room began to spin, but then I started praying, acknowledging that God was the maker of my heart, He had numbered its beats and He knew exactly what was going on.  I felt at peace, in the moment.  

It turned out that my heart was just fine.  Apparently, the way my heart tilts in the chest cavity, causes the EKG to give a funky reading, but is nothing at all dangerous or concerning.  

It is so important for us to cease striving long enough to hear the Holy Spirit's still small voice when our circumstances are calling us to flight or fright.   O what peace would be ours, if we would call upon Jesus as our first response...

His Word
Through God's Word, we have access to ALL the promises of God.  Promises that speak peace to every aspect of our lives, including trials and tribulations.

The grass withers and the flowers fall,

but the word of our God endures forever.

Isaiah 40:8

You are my refuge and my shield;

I have put my hope in your word.

Psalm 119:114

Your word is a lamp for my feet,

a light on my path.

Psalm 119:105

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, 
and it will be done for you.

John 15:7

Early on in my walk with the Lord, I bought a little handbook, the name of which I don't recall, but whose contents categorized God's Promises for every situation a person could face.  The table of contents listed all of life's trials, difficulties and temptations.  Whatever I was facing,  I would look it up in the table of contents and then go to the page that listed all of God's promises which spoke peace to that situation.  For one who suffered with much anxiety at that time, I clung to the promises of God and truly felt transforming peace.

ALL of Scripture speaks of the gracious, merciful and loving character of God...  A God who has made approximately 3573 promises to us!  Is that not amazing!  3,573!

Merriam-Webster defines promise as:  a statement telling someone that you will definitely do something or that something will definitely happen in the future

How much more when it is God who is making the promise!!

Let us immediately respond to trials and tribulations by calling upon the promises of God, for they fill us with hope and peace.

His Faithfulness
Every one of us has a testimony of circumstance after circumstance showcasing God's past faithfulness. Faithfulness that has rescued us from danger; faithfulness that has calmed our fears; faithfulness that has answered our prayers; faithfulness that has shown us grace and mercy.

I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.

Psalm 77:11

Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered.

Psalm 105:5

For me, when I am faced with a circumstance that I know will be difficult, my first response is usually worry.  But instead, like the Psalmist, I should be remembering what the Lord has already done for me.   It seems that many trials can have similar themes; not necessarily the same exact situation, but a familiarity where we can call upon the remembrance of God's past faithfulness to give us hope and peace to face the new situation.

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

Isaiah 43:19

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;  his mercies never come to an end; they are new  every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23

When I was watching someone going through marriage difficulties, with each new difficult hurdle, I had a quiet peace as I remembered the small victories the Lord had already provided for them.  I steadfastly prayed, even as each new challenge came about, some which seemed like it would be the end of the road for their marriage.  Yet I persevered in prayer with the quiet peace that God was going to continue to be faithful...  In the end, He brought about such a miracle of redemption in this couple's marriage, it was stunning!

Let us quickly remember what God has already done for us when we face all kinds of trials.

His People
The Lord created us for community; to be the hands and feet of Christ, serving together, serving each other, supporting each other, carrying each others burdens, laughing together and crying together.

He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

2 Corinthians 1:4

Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;

Ephesians 5:19

 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

James 5:16

Contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

Romans 12:13

When my son-in-law (who was my daughter's boyfriend at the time) deployed to Afghanistan, I went through one of the biggest challenges of my faith...  The situation was so far out of my hands, I could only place it in God's hands...  

I employed God's entire Emergency Response Team those nine months.  Through fervent prayer; trusting God's promises; remembering how He watched over my son-in-law during his first non-combat deployment two years earlier and through my friend, whose son had deployed to a combat zone the year prior.  She was the one I leaned on for encouragement and prayer, knowing that she understood EXACTLY what I was feeling.  It was such a comfort to talk my friend during those difficult nine months.

And O how the Lord heard our prayers, protecting my son-in-law not once but three times from circumstances that should have ended in death.  God is still in the business of miracles!  There is no explaining why my son-in-law didn't die, but God... being rich in mercy, blessed us abundantly!

Dear Lord, when life gets messy, when fiery trials come, when we feel weak, when we are fearful, help us to first respond by calling upon the name of Jesus, by searching the Scriptures, by remembering what You have already done and by participating in the blessings of sweet fellowship. 

He has lovingly given us everything we need through God's First Responder and His Emergency Response Team.

Amen!  Amen!

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