By Chris WittsThursday 13 Dec 2018Morning Devotions with Chris WittsFaithReading Time: 5 minutes
In Part 1, I spoke about chaos, talking about some of the chaos that affects people’s lives—outer chaos and also inner chaos. And I said that God is in control. And that’s a confidence statement.
- Read Chaos – Part 1
An older man I heard about, lived on a mountain and was always out walking anytime of the day you’d find him. So his neighbour decided to stop him one day, and they began to talk together: Why do you walk so much? The old man smiled and said, I came here to get away. I came here to find meaning for my life and peace for my soul. I came here to get away from humanity, the people who seemed to constantly drag me down. I walked every mountain stream, I watched every star in the sky, and I avoided every man and woman on the mountain in hopes of finding peace.
The other man said, Well, you must have found it. You speak unlike any of the others I’ve talked to. You hold your head high instead of resting it in your hands. The old man said, I did find peace, but it wasn’t anywhere that I looked. The other man said, What do you mean?
The old man responded, I’ve found the peace I’ve always longed for, but it was not in getting away—it was in getting in touch. God spoke to my heart one day through the prophet Isaiah and said, ‘Tom, I will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is set on me. Now go and share my peace with those who are searching for it.’ (Isaiah 26:3) I still live on the mountain, but every day I leave this place and go down to the valley below where the maddening crowd dashes about trying to find purpose for their lives and rest for their souls. Finding the peace you have been searching for is really quite easy—get in touch with the God who loves you and allow him to use you to bind up the lives that have become unravelled in their search for peace.
God Is In Control
However, if we don’t sit in the quiet long enough to face the issues we’ve been avoiding, we will never give God the opportunity to lead us into deeper peace and healing. I want to say we can live confidently for God is in control.
In Genesis (1:1-6) we read, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and darkness was over the surface of the deep and the Spirit of God was hovering above the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light’…And God said, ‘Let there be an expanse’… And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky’.” God was in control and he spoke everything into existence. God said it—and it was so!
The entirety of God’s Word tells us in no uncertain terms that God is in control. It speaks with great authority concerning God’s omniscience and his omnipresence and it tells us time and time again that nothing in this world happens without the Father’s knowledge—that fact alone should bring us solace in times of distress.
However, though God is in control, he must also be in charge if he is to produce a calm spirit, when we stand on the precipice of being swallowed up in the chaos of a sinful world. Since the beginning of time our great, awesome and all-powerful God has never forced his will on us; rather he has waited for us to invite him into our lives and he has patiently courted us to give him our hearts.
God Promises Peace to Those Who Put Him In Charge
God offers you peace—it’s his promise:
- Psalm 29:11 (NASB) – The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.
- Romans 15:33 (NASB) – Now the God of peace be with you all.
- John 14:27 (NASB) – Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
We live in a chaotic world full of people living chaotic lives. Many are out there living in desperation, yearning for some kind of escape from the mess they’ve made of their lives. Chaos is defined as a state of disorder and confusion, even total disorder and confusion. It means to be in disarray, to be in turmoil. To say it another way, it means that your life lacks order, peace and calm. Do you ever feel like your life is chaotic—that you yearn for order, peace and calm?
I once heard about a man who took long walks every day. When asked about inclement weather, he replied, There is no such thing as bad weather, only improper clothing. I think he made a very good point. There are some things in life we can do very little about—external forces that come unexpectedly, like illness or bad news. We may want a neat-scripted life where everything goes smoothly and nicely, but experience shows that’s not the case. There are no guarantees that life will be serene and/or everyday will be smooth sailing. Therefore, the only thing we can control is our reaction to the inevitable bumps in the road:
- Are you having confusion right now?
- Does it seem as if you can’t think straight?
- Does it feel as if you have too much to handle?
- Are things spinning around in your life, trying to take you down?
Remember God is not the one bringing the chaos, mess and confusion; 1 Corinthians 14:33 (NKJV) says, “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace“.
When we feel confused or frightened, we need to remember God is in control of our lives and knows what is going on, even if we don’t. Because the scripture says in Psalm 9:9-10 (NIV):
The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
Those who know your name put trust in you
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.