Day 20 in the Wilderness: Don’t panic.

40 Days in the Wilderness

Day 20: Don’t panic“When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. So it shall be, when you are on the verge of battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people. And he shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭20:1-4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Years ago, someone gave me a book on survival (you know who you are). It describes scenarios you probably never expect yourself to be in and tells you what to do about it. Among the many scenarios it describes are fending off an attacking shark, escaping an angry bear, getting out of quicksand, and so on. There’s even a section on what to do if lost in the desert. You will not be surprised to hear that the first step toward survival in the desert is to not panic. You will also not be surprised to hear me say that averting panic is easier said than done.

Panic is the result of intense fear combined with a sense of impending doom with no way of escape. It’s a terrible feeling of hopelessness and helplessness. And yes, panic makes an already bad situation, worse!

Aron Ralston was climbing a canyon in Utah alone. While sliding down the canyon face, a boulder came loose and trapped his hand. There was no way to escape this dire situation and nobody even knew where he was. Eventually, on his sixth day of struggling to survive, he used a multitool to amputate his own hand. He then had to scale down a 65 foot rock wall with one hand to get to where he could find help. He was found and rescued six hours later. If he had panicked, he would have lost more than his hand.

Jesus, in talking about the Last Days, warned that we should not panic.

“Jesus replied, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭13:5-7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The pressure we are now experiencing could easily cause those who have no hope to panic and be destroyed. Think about what we saw during the height of the pandemic. People were doing irrational things like filling rooms with toilet paper and hand sanitizer. In fact, it was panic that led to so many of the shortages. Additionally, I saw a number of videos of people getting into fist fights over the fact that one of them was not wearing a mask in a public place. To me, scarier than the virus, was the panicked response seen in so many people.

Today we find Moses, shortly before his death, reflecting back over the wilderness days. In his instructions to the people who would now have to possibly fight to possess their inheritance, He warns them to not panic, “for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” Indeed, he had learned firsthand that true dependence and trust on the Lord, not only averts panic, but also brings victory.

I don’t know what you’re facing today; and I certainly can relate to the tendency to panic. But understand, we should not be numbered among those who panic, having no hope. Rather, we should remember that the word of God is true and that He will be with us. By the grace of God, we won’t have to cut off a hand to survive. But—whatever the situation requires—the Lord will Help us do it.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

For today write this in your “wilderness journal”:

Don’t panic.

#40daysinthewilderness