“And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear.” (Matthew 26:51)
“Then all the disciples left Him and fled.” (Matthew 26:56)
Science tells us that we are wired for certain responses as human beings. We we encounter danger or circumstances that are threatening we choose “Fight or Flight”. In other words, our adrenalin kicks in and we will either run away or attack.
We see this played out in the garden as Jesus is confronted with a mob armed with weapons ready to forcefully arrest Him. The above Scriptures show the two responses of the disciples…fight and flight. They, at first, rise up and one even ddraws a sword and attacks (In The Gospel of John we find out it is Peter). They are quickly rebuked by Jesus. No friends. This is not how you should respond. Well, that left them with the only other option, flight. And they did.
I believe that Jesus was modeling for us that there is a third option…stand firm and trust the Father. Granted, it is not in the science books as our natural tendancy but, we are encouraged throughout Scripture to take this stance when encountering hostle or challenging circumstances. “Stand firm”, the Apostle Paul says to the Ephesians.
We are not called to fight fire with fire. We are not to attack in the name of Jesus. However, we are not called to run away either. We are called to stand firm in our faith. Trusting in our God to be with us. We will not fear, as David said, “Even though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me.” (Psalm 23).
So, today, when circumstances get rocky stand firm. God has your back. You don’t have to run and hide and you, certainly, should not fight. The challenge is to stand in the grace that is yours through Jesus and give a testimony of His work in you. This is what Jesus did in the garden. He was the only one. Everyone else fought and ran. He stood there.
He stood there for you.
Blessings!