Finding Peace in the Midst of Chaos

Growing up I used to watch a TV show called “Get Smart.” I probably shouldn’t admit that but at the time I thought it was great fun and I loved the antics of Maxwell Smart who was probably the most inept yet successful agent ever in the history of agents. The bad guys were part of CHAOS, sometimes spelled KAOS. Chaos used their agents to wreck havoc or create…well…create chaos within society which of course, Maxwell Smart in his ineptitude would stop…somehow….usually with the help of his trusty sidekick “99” and order would be restored.
The past couple months have been especially hectic in my own life and sometimes I think it would be nice to have an agent of control who would stop the chaos and calm the storm….someone who would handle all the crazy, so I could sit back and enjoy. But then I realize I already have that in Jesus who will take on all the stuff of my life and calm the storm. The problem is with me. I want to be an agent of control, a more proficient version of Maxwell Smart, as I do battle with the agents of chaos in my life and subdue them by my own heroic measures. Maybe what I really want to be is my own version of Dr. Strange where I control the very elements of this world…I could point a finger at tile that needs to be laid and it would be done. Or give just a glance at the full to overflowing laundry bin and it would be filled with clean and folded laundry. I could…maybe get down off my Marvel induced daydream, face reality and get busy!
Because in all honesty, what I know is that we tend to create our own chaos. We let things go ‘til the last minute, or we take on too many tasks. Maybe we are dealing with small children who are really good at creating their own version of chaos. (I have raised 4 children. I know what I am talking about here.) Maybe we are dealing with a personal crisis or a medical diagnosis or something else…but in the midst of all the storms of life…in the midst of all the chaos…we can find peace. We just have to be willing to be still.
In Matthew 8:23 – 27, Jesus calms a storm. Jesus and his disciples have gotten into a boat and are heading out across the sea when a storm comes up on the lake…by the time the storm arrives, Jesus is sound asleep, but the disciples are panicking and firmly believe they are going to drown. So they do the only sensible thing they can think of: they wake Jesus up. Jesus tells the winds to calm down and everything returns to its pre-storm status which of course astonishes the people who witnessed everything Jesus did. I have lived through a few hurricanes…they are nothing to sleep through! So, I figure if Jesus can calm a storm, He can calm the chaos of my life if I will only let go and turn over all the chaos. (Something that is a lot easier to write than do let me assure you.)
As we go through the days and weeks of our lives, we can be our own worst enemies. We can cause many of the issues in life we then have to deal with. A reality check for each of us is the simple fact we could all probably use a time out…a time to be still…a time for prayer…a time to connect to the wisdom God holds out to us if only we will listen and release our adamant insistence to be in control. Because ironically, I think it might be our insistence to be in control that leads us down the path of chaos.
Peace,
Beth