TAMING CHAOS

Website Admin
Apr 2, 2020
16 min read

3 CRUCIAL REMINDERS IN A WORLD OF UNCERTAINTY

Trust God. It’s a common and perhaps overused phrase, and yet, the sentiment that it carries is perhaps one of the most valuable that one could ever discover. This is especially the case when the unbridled chaos of life causes paralysis in nearly every part of our being. I’m talking about those times when the challenge in front of you seems to creep in like a thief and steals your very breathe. I’m referring to those scenarios that produce immobilizing fear that lingers in the deepest rooms of your heart. The things I speak of are those that snatch your joy, rob you of your time, and arrest your attention; making life feel nearly unbearable.

It’s in those times that many of us either speak or attempt to embrace the ever so common phrase, “Trust God”. It’s not a bad thing. No truer or more relevant words of advice could ever be spoken. Still, the challenge before us when life feels uncertain is learning how to appropriate our trust in God in such a way that it makes a real impact on how we see and survive the circumstances of life.

Repeating a two-word mantra will simply not cut it, especially when our understanding of “trusting God” is often grossly misunderstood. In fact, it’s been said that “Trusting God does not mean believing he will do what you want, but rather believing he will do everything he knows is good”[i]. What this ultimately implies is that a life of trusting God has more to do with His character than it does our circumstances. The questions must be asked, do we believe that He is good? Do we truly buy into the notion that nothing enters our lives without first passing through His hands? Further, do we believe His hands are full of care and concern for each of us despite the anguish that our circumstances might bring? These are the questions of real life.

Thankfully, one of the wisest men ever to walk the earth didn’t shy away from dealing with the topic of trusting God. Most believe that Solomon is the nameless author of the book of Ecclesiastes and it’s in the ninth chapter of that book that we discover 3 powerful truths to help in our efforts to tame the chaos of life. Take a look at Solomon’s words.

Ecclesiastes 9:1–12 (NIV84) — 1 So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him. 2 All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. As it is with the good man, so with the sinner; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them. 3 This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward, they join the dead. 4 Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion! 5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun. 7 Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do. 8 Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. 9 Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun— all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

In the chapters preceding this, Solomon deals with the emptiness of riches, the futility of pleasure, the reality of God’s sovereignty, the necessity of moderation, the danger of hastiness, the inevitability of death, the expectation of adversity, the need for wisdom, and now, the chaotic challenges of life!

Here’s what he says right out the gate, “1 So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him”. Now, much could be said here but one facet of Solomon’s words that shines brighter than any other is simply this…

WE’VE GOTTA TRUST GOD FOR THE STUFF WE CAN’T SEE.

That’s right. Life is full of twists and turns and the cold, hard, truth, is that things come at us from all sides; oftentimes completely out of our line of sight. In the case of Solomon, he had taken some time to consider all the matters that he had spoken of in the first eight chapters and he arrived at a simple conclusion; our lives are in God’s hands. It very well may mean more but this truth can mean nothing less than this; God is in control! Yes, even when everything around you seems to be out of control, as a child of God, we can rest assured that He is the ever vigilant captain of our lives and is very much in control.

R.C Sproul states quite pointedly that “If there is one single molecule in this universe running around loose, totally free of God’s sovereignty, then we have no guarantee that a single promise of God will ever be fulfilled.”[ii]This is a profound truth to consider, and when embraced, it changes the way we face the unknowns of an unforeseeable future. Rather than walking in fear and becoming paralyzed over what might be awaiting us, we trust that no matter what meets us around the next corner, it will never enter our lives without first passing through God’s hands. Every single chaotic stream of life that seems to take on river-like rage, threatening to wash away all that we hold so dear, stands in humble attention when the one who walks upon it speaks. No, this doesn’t mean that no harm will ever befall you, nor is it intended to imply that the storms of life are somehow operating per the instruction of another master. On the contrary, the one who stops the storm in it’s bellowing with a spoken word is equally the one who hurled a strong wind across the water to bring a life-altering lesson into Jonah’s rebellious life. Indeed, the God we serve and the one we must trust is both the tamer of chaotic rivers and the sender of storms. Always for our good, always for His glory! Trust him!

This may be especially hard to grasp when the circumstances of life feel upended and the winds of change seem to be angry at best. Yet, unexpected, unforeseen change, is part and parcel of life. Here’s how Solomon describes it, “… no man knows whether love or hate awaits him”. Difficult to swallow? Yes. Reality? Absolutely. Not a single one of us knows what awaits us around the next corner. Truth be told, most of us would love to flip through the pages of our history and simply rip out the sections filled with the unwanted stuff that came into our lives without warning! An unexpected diagnosis, a sudden job layoff, a surprise relationship breakup, a sickness, an accident, a virus, and the list could continue.

But as we all know, life isn’t only filled with the stuff we can’t see. Bad as it may be to deal with matters that blind-side us, it’s perhaps even more difficult to deal with those matters that we feel powerless to face. In fact, this is the second vital reminder that we need to embrace…

WE’VE GOTTA TRUST GOD FOR THE STUFF WE CAN’T STOP!

Few things feel as debilitating as facing a challenge, a difficulty, a crisis, and realizing that you are utterly incapable of stopping it. With the weight of a freight train, trouble often comes with an unfathomable and unstoppable momentum that leaves each of us incapacitated. As someone once said, “Life with God is not immunity from difficulties but peace when facing them”. As beautiful and true as this statement is, it doesn’t take away the painful struggle that visits us in some of the darkest seasons of life.

There’s much that we seemingly can’t stop in life. Take, for instance, busting your small toe on the corner of a wall, fast food restaurants leaving out the most important ingredients, or having to wait on the local “Redbox” to “do its thing” before you can deposit the next movie into the return slot.

On a more serious note, cancer happens. Viruses spread. And then there’s death and his song of silence that seems to never end. Consider Solomon’s words, “2 It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. 3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

Of all the “stuff” we can’t stop in life, death and its shadow are perhaps the most dreaded. Try as we may, no attempt to beautify it, no effort to ignore it, and ultimately, no effort to delay it has stopping power. Death is coming. For some, it may be many years from now, and for others, an appointment may already be set for the very near future. You can almost hear the angst that Solomon seems to be dealing with when he broaches the topic.

He’s taking a look at life and all the people who make it up, good people and evil ones, clean ones and unclean ones, those who sacrifice and those who don’t, the righteous and the unrighteous, and he sees the inevitable fate of them all…Death!

The reality is simply that it can’t be stopped. Consequently, if we can’t stop death the question we must attend to is how can we face it. The answer, the only answer, the only answer that provides solace to the prospect of death, is that we’ve gotta trust God for the stuff we can’t stop! The statistics are sobering. Each year, approximately 55 million people die, 151,600 each day, 6,300 each hour, and around 105 each minute! We’re all going to have our life interrupted by this unwanted visitor, he never calls ahead, doesn’t care how inconvenient it might be, and is no respecter of persons.

No matter what you call it, death is death and unless Jesus comes back first it’s something you and I simply can’t stop. Not for ourselves, and listen up, not for those around you either! In fact, Solomon expresses his own frustration with this…3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. The author of the book of Hebrews makes it painfully clear, 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment… (Hebrews 9:27 ESV)

It’s a reality you and I must come to grips with and it’s the stuff we simply can’t stop. Every day of life is an exercise of subtraction…you will never have this day again…you can’t get it back…the breaths you just breathed are gone. Yesterday is lost. Each day you live is closer to the day you will die and you can’t stop it. But, you can trust the one, the only one, who has defeated it! Trust Him!

Trust Him for the stuff you can’t see, the stuff you can’t stop and in a world that often brings much pain, confusion, and fear, we have to learn the valuable discipline of trusting God for the stuff we simply can’t stomach.

WE’VE GOTTA TRUST GOD FOR THE STUFF WE CAN’T STOMACH!

In verses 4-6, Solomon says, 4 But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun. In these couple of verses, I don’t at all think that it’s a stretch to conclude that he’s bringing us face to face with the circumstances of life that make us feel like we’d be better off dead! The stuff that creeps into our minds and hearts and causes the value of life to be diminished and the access to hope seemingly well beyond reach.

The question we often want to ask is “WHY?” We want to know why the sickness, why the accident, why the loss, why the outcome, why the divorce, why the violence, why the split, why…why …why!

The simple and theological answer is that with the cosmic treason of Adam and Eve that took place in Genesis 3, humanity and all of creation was broken…marred in all ways by the stain and scourge of sin.

As a result, life consists of the pain and scourge of death, tsunamis, earthquakes, wars, sickness, and famines. Relationships crumble and people harm one another. Children are abused and the elderly are abandoned. People get cancer, heart attacks happen, viruses wreak havoc and the world is full of pitfalls that make living under the sun more than a little treacherous!

Consider Paul’s words in Romans 5:12 (ESV) — 12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned. The “whole creation” groans because of sin! If you want to know why life is so tough at times, the answer is simple, sin has marred every aspect of life as you and I know it. Consequently, seasons of life will at times seem unbearable. At times, we will stare in the face of another real or perceived crisis and the enemy will whisper in our ears, “why bother”. Life is at times hard to stomach and it will be difficult to even know how to take the next step.

Perhaps you’ve never faced such angst in life, but even as a believer, if you have, you aren’t alone. From Jonah to David to Job and even Elijah, we see examples of God-loving men who found life at times difficult to stomach. But here’s the good news that Solomon places before each of us, “it’s better to be a live dog than a dead lion!” That’s right! Life is a precious gift even if you feel more like a dog than a lion! Dog-like feelings in life are more common than most of us wish to admit. Yet, the wisdom from Solomon is simply this, if you still dwell in the land of the living, if you still have the power to breathe in and exhale, if your heart still beats, blood still pumps and sand in your life’s hourglass remains, there’s hope! Here’s how Solomon says it, “4 But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion“.

Yet, despairing of life is precisely what happens at times. Even now, as I write these words, I am fully aware of the fact that some who will read this may be in the very throes of contemplating suicide. Further, some who will read these words will be survivors of their own unsuccessful attempts to snuff their own life out. Some reading this are struggling daily with the dreaded darkness of depression. Death may seem like a welcomed visitor in the midst of the harshest seasons of life. Nevertheless, much is lost when a life is extinguished. Solomon goes on to say, “5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun.”

No matter how hopeless things may seem, there’s hope! No matter how dark your feelings or how much of a drudgery life may seem, for the living, hope remains! Relationships go sour, finances may be non-existent, and spiritually you may feel far from God. But if you are breathing, there is hope that things may get better. Some of our greatest successes in life are built from the ashes of failure or pain Sometimes relationships can be healed; sometimes sickness is cured; occasionally work can improve and finances can shape up.

But even if these things don’t take place, you have an amazing opportunity to use your sufferings for a greater purpose! God is there, He does care, and He has not forgotten you! Believe this! Trust Him! Trust Him for the stuff you can’t stomach!

Life is full of unavoidable challenges…TRUST GOD! Trust him for the stuff you can’t see, trust him for the stuff you can’t stop, trust Him for the stuff you can’t stomach! Nothing comes into your life without passing through His hand. But it may be that we need to be reminded of exactly what that means. Consider Isaiah’s words, Isa 49:15–16 (ESV) — 15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. 16 Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

The Scripture says that God’s “right hand is filled with righteousness” (Psalm 48:10), that we are “the sheep of his hand” (Psalm 95:7), and that no one can ever snatch us out of his hand (John 10:28), even when it comes time for us to die (Psalm 31:5). We’re told in 1 Peter that we will be exalted in due time if we humble ourselves under his mighty hand. (1 Pet 5:6) The psalmist can sing of God’s mighty arm and hand: “Your arm is powerful; your hand is strong, your right hand victorious (Ps. 89:13). It was God’s mighty hand that brought the universe into being. God himself declares: “I made the earth, I created the people who live on it. Then we read “My hands stretched out the heavens, I gave orders to all the heavenly lights” (Isa. 45:12).59 Further, the psalmist observes that the very heavens were “ made by God’s fingers” (Ps. 8:3). Indeed, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky displays his handiwork” (Ps. 19:1).[iii]

All this is great, but when we’re dealing with the disasters of life, the impossibilities, when we’re dealing with stuff we never saw coming, can’t stop, and stuff we can’t even stomach, we need to be reminded that we belong to the One who has overcome. I love the account of Thomas in Scripture when he finds himself disheartened and perhaps even in despair after the crucifixion of Jesus. The rest of the guys begin telling Him, “Thomas, we saw Him, we really did”. Thomas would have nothing of it until the account that unfolds in John 20:27 transpired, “27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” To face the despondency of life and the fear that had no doubt crept into his heart, Thomas needed to see not only the marks of Christ’s suffering but the reality that He had overcome it all! This changes everything!

Charles Spurgeon once stated, “Christ wears those marks in his hands that, as believers, you may never forget that he has died. We shall need, perhaps, nothing to refresh our memories in heaven. but still' even if we should, we have it here. When we shall have been in heaven many a thousand years we shall still have the death of Christ before us, we shall see him reigning. But can you not conceive that the presence of the wounded Christ will often stir up the holy hearts of the celestial beings to a fresh outpouring of their grateful songs?”[iv]

So, if you find yourself in the midst of a dark season, struggling to hold on, struggling to make sense of it all, fighting the temptation to give up, trust God. Here are some practical steps to consider.

1. REFUSE THE TEMPTATION TO BE HELD HOSTAGE TO THE UNKNOWN, COMBAT WORRY!

2. FACE THE SURPRISES OF LIFE WITH confidence, he's with you!

3. EMBRACE THE REALITY THAT LIFE WILL AT TIMES BE PAINFUL, SUFFER WELL!

4. STOP LIVING AS THOUGH YOU WILL NEVER DIE, PREPARE FOR IT!

HERE'S HOW...

SPEND YOUR LIFE IN A WORTHY MANNER - You can spend your life on all sorts of pursuits and accumulate friends, real estate, riches, a reputation, children, degrees, and accomplishments…but let me ask you a simple question… 26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? ( Matthew 16:26 (NIV84) ) We could talk all day about how you need to trust God for the stuff you can’t see or stop but if you don’t trust God for your eternity, if you don’t trust Christ as your savior…death will be nothing more than a transition into the most miserable existence you can imagine. It’s been said about people that for those who have placed their trust in Christ as Lord and Savior, this world is the closest thing to Hell you will ever experience but for those who trust in themselves and not in Christ…this is the closest thing to Heaven you will ever experience.

STORE YOUR TREASURE IN A WORTHY PLACE - Some have spent a lifetime investing in their pursuits, dreams, and goals in life, and in some measure, we are all doing so. But the day is coming when all the hard work, all the treasures you have gathered, all the stuff you’ve accumulated, will be gone. Matthew 6:19–21 (NIV84) — 19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

SHARE WITH OTHERS A WORTHY MESSAGE – The world will offer the lost and broken, the sin-sick and hurting, good advice. It comes in fortune cookies and bestsellers, from athletes, doctors, and politicians alike. But God has given us the privilege and responsibility NOT TO SHARE GOOD ADVICE….BUT GOOD NEWS! It’s the only message that has the power to take broken, empty lives, and make them new. It’s our only hope and the hope of the world…spend yourself on this!

5. DON’T FACE THE STRUGGLES OF LIFE ALONE, REACH OUT!

6. NEVER STOP BELIEVING THAT GOD IS ABLE, TRUST HIM!

Psalm 62:7–8 (ESV) — 7 On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. 8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah