{"id":3367,"date":"2024-02-06T07:38:57","date_gmt":"2024-02-06T12:38:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=3367"},"modified":"2024-02-06T07:39:53","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T12:39:53","slug":"dont-panic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/06\/dont-panic\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Panic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,<\/em> click here<\/a>
 
Want to know how to escape from quicksand?
 
Or survive a volcanic eruption?
 
Or jump from the roof of one tall building to another?
 
Then you need Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht\u2019s one-of-a-kind book, The Complete Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook.  <\/em>Back in 1999, the authors, having conjured up as many outrageous situations as they could imagine, interviewed experts to see what they would recommend.
 
That\u2019s how a reader can learn important tips about how to escape a bear (hint: don\u2019t try to climb a tree), how to survive a riot in a foreign country (be sure to walk, since running might attract snipers), and how to perform a tracheotomy (you don\u2019t really want to know). 
 
My favorite entry is, \u201cHow to Win a Sword Fight.\u201d  After teaching the fine points of thrusts and parries, the final piece of advice is, \u201cWait for your attacker to make a mistake.\u201d  Right.<\/em>
 
Just in case you\u2019re thinking, \u201cNone of these situations will ever apply to me,\u201d Piven and Borgenicht offer tips about surviving a plunging elevator \u2013 a subject that seems to come up with regularity for people who live and work at least a few floors above the ground.  For what it\u2019s worth, jumping into the air at the last possible moment is not recommended.
 
The book not only sold 10 million copies, but launched a minor industry of \u201csurvival\u201d products and services, as well as a pair of short-lived TV series.  Borgenicht and Piven eagerly cranked out a series of tongue-in-cheek sequels, including Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbooks<\/em> for travel, parenting, college, dating, holidays, weddings, and (of course) golf. 
 
Last October they released their latest edition: how to survive the Apocalypse.  \u201cPrepare for the end of civilization\u2026and learn how to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again.\u201d 
 
Helpful sections include how to make your bunker feel like home, how to survive an alien invasion, how to defeat a robot uprising, and how to eat insects and rodents (we\u2019re talking worst-case scenarios here).  The book ends with inspiring thoughts on \u201cHow to Rebuild a Utopian Society.\u201d
 
Not surprisingly, the worst-case scenarios that we are most likely to experience in the next few weeks are not in any of those books. 
 
You\u2019ve got just enough time to get to the airport, and your car won\u2019t start.
 
Your sixth-grader approaches you at 9:00 pm and announces, \u201cI just remembered that I have a school project due tomorrow morning.\u201d
 
You have a crucial work-related meeting in a few hours, and now you\u2019ve got food poisoning from last night\u2019s sushi. 
 
What\u2019s the most common piece of advice in the Worst-Case Scenario handbooks?  Don\u2019t panic. <\/em>That is wonderfully reminiscent of the most famous catchphrase associated with Douglas Adams\u2019 Hitchhiker\u2019s Guide to the Galaxy<\/em>.  Science writer Arthur C. Clarke suggested that those two words are surely the best advice anyone could give to humanity.
 
Perhaps that\u2019s why the same counsel appears in virtually every book of the Bible.
 
What does it mean obey the New Testament\u2019s injunction to \u201clive by faith\u201d?  What does faith look like?  What does faith feel<\/em> like?
 
Here\u2019s a great place to start:

Don\u2019t panic.<\/em>
Don\u2019t freak out.<\/em>
Don\u2019t be afraid.<\/em>
Don\u2019t worry.<\/em>
Don\u2019t lose your grip.<\/em>
 
That\u2019s because you\u2019re not in charge. 
 
And despite cherished assumptions to the contrary, there\u2019s not a single scenario in which you will be in final control of anything that\u2019s going to happen over the next 24 hours.
 
But here\u2019s the wonderful news: God is<\/em>. 
 
As Joshua stood trembling in his new role as the leader of God\u2019s people \u2013 gazing across the Jordan River at the land that God had promised to that same fickle-hearted group \u2013 the Lord spoke to him clearly and directly: \u201cHaven\u2019t I commanded you?  Strength! Courage! Don\u2019t be timid; don\u2019t get discouraged.  God, your God, is with you every step you take\u201d (Joshua 1:9, The Message<\/em>).   
 
The same assurances now belong to every follower of Jesus. 
 
There are no circumstances in which God\u2019s presence and power will ever be absent.
 
Which is definitely worth remembering the next time you find yourself in a sword fight. 

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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Want to know how to escape from quicksand? Or survive a volcanic eruption? Or jump from the roof of one tall building to another? Then you need Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht\u2019s one-of-a-kind book, The Complete Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook.  Back in 1999, the authors, having conjured up as many outrageous situations as they could… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3368,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[685,205],"class_list":["post-3367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dont-be-afraid","tag-fear"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3367"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3370,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3367\/revisions\/3370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}