Masterfully, Ordered Chaos
I once worked for an Afro-centric organization that perpetually stated and believed that “everything is in order”. No matter what it looks like, feels like, smells like…everything is in order. The other day, this statement caused me to stop dead in my tracks.
My mind in a tizzy, a crazed daze…racing at the speed of lightning, I considered areas of my life that from my perspective, lie in ruins…my mind was on a trip of its own…blowing reality into fantasy, actuality into disaster. Then out of the haze, appeared the thought “everything is in order”. Once more, I thought of what I viewed as chaos. My mind counteracted that thought with “everything is in order”. Chaotic order? Is there such a thing? A permanent contradiction or an occasional alliance?
At times it seems as if chaos has the power and potential to ruin everything. It can bring frustration, irritation, un-clarity, fear, hopelessness. But other times, it is as if chaos is the storm before the calm, the war before the alliance, the pain before the birth.
There is a difference between avoidable chaos and inevitable chaos. Operate in wisdom; know the difference. Stupidity is real, but so is what some people would call “fate”. Someone once said to me “what is not recognized on the inside, happens on the outside…it is fate”. Inescapable. Destined. Have you ever been in a situation or season of life that feels like no matter which way you turn, no matter what you try…you just can’t seem to escape what seems to be chaos?....There is a reason.
I have been reading the story of the birth of Jesus in the book of Luke. Side note for those who are not believers of God or readers of the Bible: I must say…there are some pretty bizarre and mystical stories in the Bible. Extremely interesting nonetheless. But for me… by faith…I believe :-) Ok…back to the story…Jesus’ mother Mary was impregnated by a spirit, while she was engaged to be married to a man. When her fiancée found out that she was pregnant, he planned on leaving her. In a culture that sex outside of marriage resulted in total exclusion, a severe social stigma and potential death…Mary endured a 9 month pregnancy outside of the bounds of wedlock. Chaos is probably putting it mildly.
Hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, it was prophesied that Jesus would be born in a town called Bethlehem. Well…Mary and Joseph were from a town called Nazareth…70 miles from Bethlehem. What business would they ever have in Bethlehem, right? Enter into the story, Roman emperor, Augustus. While Mary was in her 9th month of pregnancy, ready to bust…seemingly out of the blue, wise guy Augustus requires a census be taken. A census which would necessitate Mary and Joseph to travel those unexpected 70 miles to Bethlehem.
I have never been pregnant, but based the reports I read and receive from those who I know have had the experience, month 9 is not the time to saddle up a horse, hop on and take a 70 mile trip to an unfamiliar land. No bueno. Chaos. But it was ordered…a part of the plan. The chaos fulfilled the will of an orderly God.
So maybe, everything is in order? I could continue in the story. I could tell you different story, after story. Yet the premise remains unchanged. Everything is in order. Operate in wisdom, but trust the process. Know that everything happens for a reason. If you are a believer and follower of God, know that purpose is a part of His character…nothing in His world—this world—is happenstance. Even chaos. Rest in the knowledge that there is an opposite to everything. I submit to you, that on the flip side of the coin of chaos is order…peace, rest, beauty, serenity….blessing. Don’t let chaos, pandemonium, and confusion, snuff you out and snatch your blessing! Keep flipping that coin until you see the right side—the blessed side.
Stay tuned….Tootles.
