When Calm Becomes Chaos!

One thing I have learned in my life is that 'calm can soon become chaos'.  What do I mean by this?  Let me give you a few examples.  You've been working on a job for twenty years and all of a sudden your supervisor calls you in and tells you that they are going to have to lay you off with only two weeks severance package.  Calm becomes chaos! Your husband of ten years comes in and says that he's leaving you and doesn't love you any more.  Calm becomes chaos!  You are sitting on the couch watching television and all of a sudden you feel a sharp pain and are rushed to the hospital and have to have emergency surgery.  Calm becomes chaos.  You lose a child.  A parent dies. Natural disaster destroys your home.  Calm becomes chaos!  Get my drift!

Jesus had a day when calm became chaos. He went from being praised to being spit on.  He went from being worshipped and loved to being crucified.  And He went through all of this just for me and you.  As I sit and think about my Savior and the sacrifice He made for me, I am overwhelmed and so grateful.  He left GLORY so that I would have the right to the tree of life.  He could have called ten thousand angels but He never said a mumbling word.  He allowed them to put the nails in His hands and feet and pierce Him in the side.  He allowed them to put a crown of thorns on His head.  But then they made a mistake they llifted Him up.  They thought they were embarrassing Him, but they were fulfilling scripture.  You do know that the scripture said in John 12:32, 'if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me'.  Yet when our calm becomes chaos we react as though the world is coming to an end.  At least I do. I have often times wondered how Jesus stayed on task when so much was going on all around Him.  I believe that He saw me and you and thought to Himself, "I must complete my task."   You do realize that He knew you before you were born. (Psalms 139)  He knew each and every problem we would face and decided not to leave us to our own devices.  He knew that if we tried to fix it, we would only make matters worse. 

So how do we handle our chaos?  Let's take a lesson from Jesus. From the time He was born to when He died, Jesus knew His plans.  He knew how difficult it would be.  He also knew that we would look to Him as an example.  As I read Luke 22, I notice that before the chaos hit you find Jesus praying.  I also recall Him going by Himself to pray when He sent the disciples ahead to cross to the other side in Matthew 14.  'But He Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray'. ( Luke 5:16)  Here He is teaching us the importance of solitude.  And early in the morning, while it was still dark, He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place, and was praying there. ( Mark 1:35) He also taught his disciples to pray.  Remember The Lord's Prayer.  So if there is one thing we can take from Him, it is the importance of prayer.  I can't stress this enough.  It is simply not enough to pray in emergency situations only.  While God will still honor those prayers, wouldn't it be so much better to be able to sit there in the midst of chaos and have peace.  No worries....just assurance.  Instead of begging and pleading, we spend more time thanking Him because we know it's already done.  I believe that is how God wants us to be.  When calm becomes chaos, we turn chaos back into calm!  We trust God to take care of each and every situation, no matter how unexpected it may seem to be. I have learned that it is difficult for Satan to have any power in an atmosphere of prayer and praise. 

Dear Lord,

Just today my calm turned to chaos.  I admit that I wasn't prepared and I am a little worried.  You know I pray, but not nearly enough.  Since you know everything, you probably already knew that when it happened you would hear my voice calling out to you.  Especially since that has been what I have done in the past.  I need a better prayer life so that I can be better prepared.  I am coming to you for help.  I hope this doesn't mean more chaos in my life but if it does then I will know how to handle it.  I'll know that I need to pray. Morning, noon and night. I believe that all things work together for the good of them who love the Lord.  I am trusting you in the midst of chaos and I am praising you now for my return to calm even if the chaos continues.  In Jesus' Wonderful Name Amen.