Who Commands This Chaos?

 'He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. ' Colossians 1:17

 I worked for a year as a lunchroom monitor in a middle school. Yes, I accept your pity! My shift was 3.75 hours every Monday to Friday. I left exhausted…every…single…day. The sheer amount of noise was enough to drain my energy but add to that the constant conflicts between students and each other or students with rational and reasonable rules and there was never-ending chaos. Ketchup packets are not ammunition!

I started that position in November. By February I was praying that God would open a position at the elementary school where my youngest was attending. By March, the principal of the elementary school had offered me a place, but it would mean leaving the middle school short-handed and I just didn’t feel it was the right thing to do. Oh, how I wanted to go then, but I waited until the following year. The year after that I began nine years as a full-time library aide back at the middle school. In the eleven years I worked for the school district I was NEVER as never exhausted as when I worked in the middle school lunchroom.

Chaos drains us. Have you ever noticed that? Chaos takes concentration to simply function. Chaos overwhelms our senses and makes our brains work harder. Chaos can completely consume us if we allow it to. Chaos causes us to try to regain order mentally or practically. But most of the time it is out of our control to do that. And so, exhaustion and anxiety often take over.

We live in a season of chaos, don’t we? Any sense of order has seemed to go out the window in recent years. From a pandemic to natural disasters around the world to constant conflict between nations, it seems like everything is out of control. But is it really? Can we find a way to preserve our peace?

How can you and I maintain peace when chaos seems to be in control? We must remember Who is in command of the chaos.

God exists.  Let’s start there. Perhaps that is the thing we tend to forget. Of course, we would never admit that we have forgotten, but we do. God exists. He is. And if He is God, then He is bigger than all the chaos and capable of controlling it all.

When worry takes over a good question to ask ourselves is, “Do I really believe that God exists and is in charge of the universe?” If I believe that, then why I am worrying? I can preserve my peace by remembering that God is. Period.

None of this is new to God. You and I are often surprised by choices that people make. We are surprised when a loved one chooses an unexpected path. We are shocked. We are traumatized. We mourn. We are paralyzed. We can’t see a way to make sense of it. We feel out of control…because we are.

When a world leader advances a violent and destructive plan, we are overwhelmed with worry about how that will affect us. Our hearts break for the people who are directly affected. We watch in mournful amazement. How will this all turn out? We feel out of control…because we are.

The thing is that God has seen it all before. Technology has advanced. Living conditions are more comfortable for many in the 21st century than they have ever been. People, however, have not changed at all. We still follow the example of our first parents. We are still selfish and sinful without what Jesus purchased for us on the cross, His presence and the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in us. People have made the same kinds of destructive choices in personal and world venues for centuries. None of it surprises Him. We can take comfort in that. I know I do!

God is in command of the chaos. He really is! This is the hard part for us. This is where faith must act, or we fall apart. If I really believe that God exists, that He is omniscient and has the capacity to control all things, then I must respond to chaotic events within that framework. But do I?

It is so easy to let emotions take over. To let fear take over. Fear is the antithesis of faith. If I am afraid of what might happen, then faith is not guiding my response. Of course, I want to be practical and realistic. “A wise man foresees trouble and hides himself…” (Proverbs 22:3) But being realistic does not mean that I am afraid. On the flip side, ignoring a potential problem is not faith. Faith never ignores reality. Faith looks beyond reality. Faith does not foresee only happy endings to all things. Faith foresees God’s resolution of all things.

Yes, God will work it all out in the end, but the end is not necessarily in my lifetime or even on earth. The end encompasses all eternity. God will work out all things in the end. He sees the end from the beginning. (Isaiah 46:10) But He sees the real end, not necessarily the end I envision. My vision is too small. Faith, true faith, trusts that God is, that He has seen it all before, that He has the proper perspective and will bring about the appropriate resolution.

My middle school lunchroom days were a brief period in my life, but they were unlike any other season. I have never experienced as much concentrated chaos! …Or have I? Maybe the last few years could fall into that category. What do you think?

Dear Friend, regardless of the continual chaos exhausting your peace, you can rest in the comfort of God’s concrete command of it all. He really is real and in command of the chaos. He is not surprised or overwhelmed by it. He’s got the end in mind and will bring all things to a perfect conclusion…in His time and in His way. Our challenge is to trust.

Who commands this chaos? He does. He really does.

Key Thought: God is still in command of the chaos.

A Scripture to Consider: He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Colossians 1:17

A YES Challenge: Ask yourself this question in God’s presence: Am I afraid? If so, take some time to name your fears with Him. Prayerfully commit those fears to Him and remind yourself that He really is in control. Choose a Scripture that reminds you of that fact and memorize it.  

Prayer: Dear Lord, forgive me for the times when I let fear take over. I want to be realistic, but I don’t want to be afraid. Help me to walk in true faith. I don’t want a false faith that attempts to jump over real challenges. I want the kind of faith that only comes from You. The kind of faith that perseveres under pressure because it has unshakeable trust that You will prevail in the end. I love You, Lord. You are my hope.