Don't Panic

The view from the top of the zipline.

Something about spending a lot of time in a harness 40+ feet in the air changes your perspective. I began to see panic differently during the time that I worked in adventure recreation. One of my favorite places to work was the top of the zipline - a small platform perched on the side of a small mountain where I was paid to convince people that they wanted to step off into thin air (after being clipped into a heavy-duty cable, of course). As you can imagine, I had a lot of opportunities to observe panic.

Given the situation, it was entirely natural for people to have some sort of fear response. What they were about to do did appear crazy. However, I began to notice that they had an option of how to deal with the initial fear of the situation. They could put it in mental override, notice the safety precautions in place, listen to my safety briefing, ask any questions they had and then proceed to have a thrilling ride down the zipline. Or, they could panic.

Panic would occur when a person allowed fear to take control of their actions. It would root their feet in place, cause them to grab hold of the nearest object, close their eyes and shut down. When a person reached the state of full-on panic, it was very difficult to get through to them. Unless they decided to override their panic with reason, there was nothing that I could do to help them move forward. They were stuck and their only option was to go back. It was always very sad for me to watch someone climb back down the ladder because they would not overcome their panic. There was a sense of loss because I knew what they were missing.

On the flip side, there were the people who would instead choose to fight back. I could see the battle in their eyes. Something inside was screaming very loudly, "You're crazy! Don't do it!" But, something else was saying, "This is going to be awesome!" Sometimes there were tears. Sometimes it took a group of people chanting their name. Once, I even had a lady ask if I would pray her down the zipline. I said, "Sure! 3, 2, 1, go! Dear Jesus, I ask that you will be with this lady as she goes down the zipline..." I don't remember the rest, but it worked. She had the ride of her life. And I never once had someone come back and tell me they were sorry they went. More often than not, they came marching back up to the top, enthused and ready to go again.

Those experiences changed the way I handle panic in my own life. First, I learned that panic is a choice and it can be overcome. Secondly, I learned that panic does not lead to good results. Yes, there are times that fear keeps us from harm. But, panic shuts down the logical thought process that allows us to analyze a situation and determine whether or not a fear is valid. Third, I learned that the best way to combat panic is to do the next right thing.

For the people on the zipline, the next right thing was following whatever instruction I gave next. For me, it is walking through whatever next step the Father puts in front of me. Sometimes the big picture of life gets overwhelming and I feel tempted to panic. However, I am working on developing the discipline of praying through situations instead of panicking. Instead of shutting down in misery, I invite Jesus into the situation (very much like praying that lady down the zipline) and then do the next right thing, whatever it may be. Sometimes it's a small step ("Put your hand here on the tether") and sometimes it's a leap of faith ("When I say go, step off the platform"). And slowly but surely, the screams of "You're crazy!" are being drowned out by the voice that says, "This is going to be awesome!"


"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." 
Hebrews 11:1 ESV

P.S. For more on praying through things, I highly recommend The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson. It's a great read!