27 Fee Fi Fo Fum…

There is a parent that I know (ahem…) that in the routine of putting the children to bed would say, “Fee Fi Fo Fum, if you’re in my bed, I’ll whack your bum…” and inevitably, the children would run to the parent’s bed (not their own) and there would be several extra child-sized lumps in the bed in which the parent would grab and tickle and there would be ridiculous sounds of giggles and laughter coming from the lumpy blanket, culminating in a surprise discovery EVERY TIME, of children in the parents’ bed, cuddles and smiles of being seen (even without visibly seeing them) and knowing that they are loved – EVERY TIME.

But that phrase didn’t start out so benign and joy-filled. This phrase (or part of it) was first seen published by English author, Thomas Nashe in 1596 who wrote in Have With You to Saffron-Walden the passage:

O, tis a precious apothegmaticall Pedant, who will finde
matter inough to dilate a whole daye of the first
inuention of Fy, fa, fum, I smell the bloud of an
Englishman …

“Fee Fi Fo Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be alive or be he dead, I’ll grind his bones to make my bread” in King Lear (Shakespeare, published in 1605)is also found in Jack and the Giant Killer (published in 1711), when the Giant smells Jack in his house and is upset about it and is bent on killing him for the intrusion.

OK, OK, it’s all fairy tales and fun, right?

Well… weirdly, not so much.

As it turns out there was a study done by US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, that tested and compared the sweat of people who were just jogging with that of the same people who were terrified during their first sky-diving attempt. It was found that the sweat was made of different bodily chemicals (pheromones) and the sky-diving sweat was filled with chemicals associated with the function of fear. Here is where it gets interesting. When both sweats were made into a smelling gas and given to DIFFERENT volunteers to sniff (oh ick… just saying) New Scientist magazine reported that although the volunteers could not smell [the stink-difference?] between the two kinds of sweat, the centers in the brain associated with fear (amygdala and hypothalamus) were more active in the people who took the fear-sweat-sniff. (You can read more about the smelling fear experiment here: Smelling Fear)

Pheromone researcher and Biomedical Engineer, Mujica-Parodi, wrote: “We demonstrate here the first direct evidence for a human alarm pheromone … our findings indicate that there may be a hidden biological component to human social dynamics, in which emotional stress is, quite literally, ‘contagious’.”

Basically the adage “They can smell your fear” is absolutely right, but now you can bottle it and sell it, too.

(This whole phenomenon is now being studied as a potential for a biological weapon. But it’s all hush-hush, when you do a google search. No one, who is “anyone” wants to comment on it. So… remember… you didn’t hear it here…)

The Back Story (1 Chronicles 20:1-30)

King David’s great-great-great-grandson,  Jehoshaphat (King Jeh), became king. He’s was a good guy and honored God with his life and ruled justly. There came a time in his history when several nations ( the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites, NOT Mennonites) basically Fee Fi Fo and Fummed him, threatening him and his country that they were going to grind THEIR bones in war. He was hooped.

Totally!

King Jeh was freaked out (although some versions say “alarmed” or “shaken”) but resolved to ask God what to do, instead of stay in his panic. He declared a nation-wide fast. People swarmed into the cities and fasted together and cried out to God for help (that’s a lot of fear-pheromone potential going on…).

King Jeh made himself vulnerable before the nation, in prayer, and acknowledged that his help came from the Lord! They worshipped God as a nation and put their trust in Him. The next day, when they went out to war, King Jeh reminded them of their hope in the prophetic words that the Lord had sent and exhorted them to trust and believe in God’s salvation! King Jeh was so committed to this, that instead of warriors to go into battle, he sent the church choir singing the song “Thanks be to God, His love never quits. “

Really.

It was the singers that lead them into battle.

(I’d like to see some of current-day world super-power do THAT!)

Well, God heard them and by the time they got to the battle field, they had missed the battle entirely.

The battle was over.

The enemy had all killed THEMSELVES, so all King Jeh and his nation had to do was take to take out all the loot, plunder, money and valuables. It took 3 days (3 DAYS!!!) for that etransfer to happen. (That’s a lotta moola)

God did the impossible, and blessed them abundantly more than they could have asked or imagined because they humbled themselves before the Lord.

Amazing.

What’s My Point

This is what I’ve noticed. People have a lot of worry/anxiety/fear (WAF) these days. I’ve noticed that when I talk to people about their WAF , they can’t have WAF and have hope at the same time. Oddly enough, when I’ve had conversations with myself about WAF and hope, I can’t either. (Go figure)

Here is why: BOTH fear and hope demand to be fulfilled/in charge/center of attention. BUT, only 1 can be in charge at any given time.

In one of the ancient Fee Fi Fo Fum writings, Robert Jamieson’s version of Childe Rowland in Illustrations of Northern Antiquities (1814) the Elf-king character states:
“With fi, fi, fo, and fum!
I smell the blood of a Christian man!
Be he dead, be he living, wi’ my brand
I’ll clash his harns (brains) frae (from) his harn-pan (brain-pan= skull)!”

The enemy of God was after the believers in Christ even in stories.

You have an enemy that is hell-bent on stealing what you have (HOPE) and killing you and destroying you through fear. (John 10:10)

If God made it that we can smell each other’s fear AND it is contagious… If we know the enemy prowls around like a roaring lion to defeat us (1Peter 5:8)how can we possibly win?

The beginning of that verse gives us the key: “Be alert and sober minded”. We must keep our wits about us. But how?

There is power in Truth – “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Rom. 8:37)

“There is NO FEAR in love. Perfect love casts out fear”. (1 John 4:18)

A wisdom and understanding are hallmarks of a sound mind. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Prov. 9:10)

When humans live in fear, they are defeated before they start. When panic sets in, your amygdala (the fear response system that gets activated by pheromones among other things) gets busy and the pre-frontal cortex (the reasoning part of the brain) goes off-line. When that happens all that’s left to draw on and make decisions from is the gunk of anxiety floating around in the brain because understanding and wisdom isn’t accessible. This does not make for good or wise decisions.

But there is hope.

Victory starts in the brain, too. We just have to figure out how to access it. It comes through Truth, Love and a sound mind.

Accessing victory can be very tangible.

1. Acknowledge the problem. Without doing this, you really can’t get started. ie. “I am so full of anxiety today” It’s a new level of honesty because where I’m from, we don’t want to say that we are having difficulties in any particular area. Truth-telling nips that in the bud. (King Jer 2 Chron. 20:3 “I’m so afraid that my enemies will take over my country and we’re all gonna die.” paraphrased)
2. Acknowledge your limitations. ie. “I’m so full of anxiety today, I can’t think properly. My brain is foggy. My motivation is gone.” Once again, this is a new level of honesty. Truth-tell how your problem is affecting your life. We’re looking for FACTUAL information, not depression. “My brain is so foggy, I can’t finish reading a whole page.” (King Jer “Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” 2 Chron. 20: 12 a.k.a. “We are out gunned, out manned and have no hope of winning this war, without your help God. We can’t do this alone”)
3. Pause and get God’s perspective on the matter. This requires setting your feelings aside and waiting on God to speak to your problem. (King Jer: ” ³ All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.” They fasted and prayed and waited on the Lord’s word.
4. Receive God’s word and believe it. When you truly believe a word of God, it will cause you to worship because you know that there is NO WAY that you could do this on your own. You have to set feelings aside. (A feeling is just a temperature gauge to tell you what the sensor is picking up. HOWEVER, if the sensor has an ice cube or a lighter placed by it, that will mess with the sensor and it will not give you an accurate reading. Your feelings aren’t always accurate if it is opposite of what God has declared.) Because you acknowledge the necessity and salvation of God, you will humble yourself before God and Honor Him for who He is. That’s worship. “I am filled with worry and I can’t stop it on my own, but I know You are gracious and you have wonderful plans for me, God.” (Jer. 29:11) 2 Chron. 20: ¹⁴ Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah.¹⁵ He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”¹⁸ Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord.
5. Release God’s word over the situation REGARDLESS of how you FEEL about it. When God has spoken a word about your situation (and you can’t see it in real-life yet) it is a test of faith vs a test of feelings (see point 4). “I am filled with worry, I am having a hard time concentrating, but God is with me, He loves me and He can give me a sound mind through His love. He has good plans for me and although I can’t see it, I know I can trust Him. I choose to stand on the word of God for direction in my life”. (King Jeh said “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” 2 Chron. 20:20)
6. Wait for God to move. Sometimes it takes a while – sometimes short, sometimes long. But waiting is the key to maturity. “God, I feel worry, I know that I can’t do it on my own. You are compassionate towards me and understand my struggles and you choose to be my strong tower, a place to run to in trouble. I choose to believe that your words will come to pass. I choose your love to direct my mind, not fear. I will wait for you to rescue me.” King Jer was told to wait until tomorrow “¹⁶ Tomorrow march down against them”, so he waited. ²⁰ Early in the morning [the next day] they left for the Desert of Tekoa.

You can physiologically change the feelings in your body that causes the anxiety. You can confess and be honest about the problem. Ask for help, wait while listening, believe what He tells you and declare scriptural truths over the problem. This releases and uproots the lies that have settled. Scripture can become a foundational belief and an unmovable rock to stand on. This is a TRUE Truth to live in.

Darling, you might be hearing the threat of war-drums in your heart, yelling Fee Fi Fo Fum… (I certainly have this past 5 months) but God can walk your heart through the battle unharmed. He can fight your battles for you. Don’t be afraid, my Darling. Love is stronger than fear. Listen to God’s heart towards you and believe his Words about your outcome!

Here is a great explanation to physically declare truth to your body when it’s hard to conquer the feelings: