God of Order...not Chaos!

1 Corinthians 14: 33... For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—

This passage is in a letter from Paul talking to the Corinthians about worship.  But it reveals a truth of God that we need to live our lives by.  In our Wrestling With Scripture Bible study, I asked the question, "What is Satan's goal?"  Two or three people said in unison "chaos" which surprised me.  I expected to hear sin or temptation, but as we discussed this, it became clear that chaos really describes what we face every day...the confusion, the distortions, the lack of clarity, the doubts that surrounds us.

Our study this week was the last few chapters of Acts.  As we looked at all that Paul endured...prison, persecution, ship wreck, and all the uncertainty of his life, we became aware that he did not live in chaos.  When we are confronted with life's challenges and trials, if we focus on all that is challenging us, we soon become overwhelmed.  We become so focused on our problems that we forget that Christ is beside us.  Psalm 23 1-2: The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.² He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.

Paul kept his focus on Jesus and he knew Him as that Shepherd who gave him peace and rest in the midst of trouble.  He embraced the ministry that Jesus gave him and he considered those whom he witness too to as being granted to him by God (Acts 27: 24).

The wonderful thing is that as we focus on Jesus when we are in the midst of chaos, we allow Him to be our Shepherd and the chaos of Satan is put in it's proper place...behind us.