Responses to Danger: Freeze
On the S&S website there’s a blog article entitled: Foxholes. It’s about the choices we all have when we perceive danger. You can read it by clicking here. This newsletter is about the consequences of freezing. Next week we will look at the choice to fight.
Hiding in Plain Sight: The Freeze Response
In combat, soldiers often face split-second choices: fight, flee, or freeze. A friend of mine, Vietnam veteran (Navy Corpsman and later a SEAL) told me how some men froze in battle—staring blankly, dropping to the ground, or lying still as if invisible. He called it “hiding in plain sight,” it was as if they thought the danger couldn’t see them. However, the bullets still found their mark.
For soldiers, freezing was often worse than running. But those who froze endangered not only themselves, but their brothers who depended on them. The illusion of safety didn’t stop the threat. It’s like putting blinders on a horse. If it can’t see the danger, it doesn’t exist.
The same is true in our spiritual battles. James 1:12 wrote, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” But freezing is not endurance. It is surrender disguised as safety.
Today, and probably true throughout history, people “freeze” by numbing themselves. Drugs, alcohol, pornography, gambling, and even meaningless entertainment can feel like relief from the threat of life’s battles. However, Revelation 21:8 gives a warning: “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
In strong language—the Bible tells us that hiding in plain sight is not a solution. Ignoring problems, or hoping they go away, only allows the enemy to hurt us and those around us more.
Rarely, there are times when freezing is wise. If you come face to face with a grizzly bear, playing dead may save your life. But in nearly every other case—when marriages are struggling, when finances are collapsing, when temptation knocks—freezing is not faith, it is fear.
God calls us to fight the good fight, not hide. “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13).
Freezing may feel safe for the moment, but it is little more than hiding in plain sight. And in the battles of life, God has not called us to hide—He has called us to endure, to trust Him, and to stand firm.
