How to deal with Chaos

Matthew 1:18-25
18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.
20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:
23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
which means ‘God is with us.’”
24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

Look at these two pictures:

Before reading any further answer this question, “Which picture best represents peace?”.  Make the decision then read on.

Two artists set out to make a picture representing perfect peace. The first painted a canvas depicting a carefree lad sitting in a boat on a little lake without a ripple to disturb the surface. The other painted a raging waterfall with winds whipping the spray about. On a limb, overhanging the swirling water, a bird had built its nest, and sat peacefully brooding her eggs. Here she was safe from her predatory enemies, shielded and protected by the roaring falls. The first pictured only comfort and ease; the last was peace.

You probably got it right, it is the bird in the nest by a raging waterfall.

All of us long for peace. Other than the love of another human being,  this the thing everyone longs for. Peace in their life.

We thought cell phones and computers would make our lives less chaotic and create more free time. We think buying things will help us be more comfortable and feel at peace. If we only had more money we could be in financial peace.  If we only had this – we could be at peace. If we only had that – we would only be at peace.

When I was 12 years old and my mom and dad took me to Disney World for a Christmas present. At that time I was the only kid who got to go to Disney world in my family. I had a great time until I thought that a gun that shot a cork with a string attached to it would satisfy my every longing. When they didn’t get it for me, my parents had to literally escort me from the happiest place on earth.

We think the things we just gotta have are going to bring us peace. We look for things to bring us peace. We look for our spouse or that significant other to bring us peace. None of those things can give the kind of peace that we are longing for.  We think they can. We also spend a lot of money trying to find peace.

At the present time there is the big debate over gun laws. I am in an argument with one of my liberal friends about whether there should be more gun laws to regulate guns. He’s thinking we need more laws. He’s thinking that a law will stop someone from doing something stupid or evil. More laws on any issue are not going to be bring peace to  issues. No matter which side of the coin you are on no law has ever brought peace on earth.

The reality is: Over the past 4000 plus years, the people who live on earth have only experienced 286 years of peace on earth. So, 92% of our time here on earth people have been at war.

The kind of peace we want is a stress free life, no money worries, the perfect spouse who does everything right, no wars, no more mass shootings, no more evil. I don’t think this is the kind of peace God wants to give. I do believe it is a by-product of kind of peace God wants to give. All of these thing do not bring peace. They only bring comfort and ease. When it comes to peace what we are really wanting is comfort and ease. Comfort and ease does not equal peace.

When you look at the biblical story that you just read at the beginning of this blog entry, Joseph was experiencing anything but peace. There was nothing comforting or easy about anything that was happening in his life.  His fiancé was pregnant, and he wasn’t the father. His village probably thought he was idiot for staying with Mary and not stoning her. He had to take a 8-9 month pregnant woman on a donkey ride to Bethlehem to register for the census. Nothing had gone the way he planned. You could say his life was in chaos and out of control. As you read the Christmas story, we don’t even see a hint of stress in Joseph. It was certainly there but that is not what stuck out about this man. None of the biblical authors record anything negative about Joseph. Instead the scriptures describe him as a righteous man, a fitting husband, a guy who was going to do the right thing no matter what.The scriptures describe him as the right man to be the earthly father for the Messiah. Even though Joseph’s life is spinning out of control, this story gives us a glimpse into the peace of God. Even in the midst of chaos, Joseph listened and was obedient. In the midst of all the chaos going on his life, Joseph is faced with the difficult decision of what to do with Mary. She became pregnant out of wedlock and could face any number of consequences. I am sure Joseph was angry. But rather than respond in anger- how does he respond? Look at vs 18-19:

18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

He doesn’t run away from the chaos, he enters into the chaotic situation. He doesn’t enter into the situation by seeking after what HE wants. He thinks about who? Mary and what is best for her.

This little 50 second video illustrates the point of seeking of what you want and not what the other needs.

This is how we find peace in the midst of our chaotic situations (not the video). Seeking the good of others. In other words showing compassion in the midst of the chaos.

I put this to the test. It works. A few weeks ago.  We were in the midst of rush hour and holiday traffic around Chicago. It took us an hour to go 10 miles. There was a 100 cars behind and 100 cars in front of us.
In the midst of all the chaos of cars, a guy in his car pulls up along side me looking for a way to get on the off ramp. I could have been a total jerk but I let him in. He waved with all four fingers and thumb showing. I knew I had changed that man’s history (every little act of compassion you do for somebody changes their history).
As Christ followers, this is what we are called to do, show compassion. A chaotic situation is the perfect time to show compassion. In the midst of chaos, there are no if,buts, or and about it this what we are called to do.

I John 3:17 says,

If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

There is a little song we sing that has a profound meaning, “and they’ll we are Christians by our love.”

How else do we find peace in the middle of chaotic situation(s)?

Look at Matthew 1:20-21:

20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Giving God a chance to weigh in on difficult decisions is the way to peace.

Joseph has a dream in which God tells him what to do. I don’t know if God will speak to you like that all the time – though he certainly can. Prayer is a way to allow God to weigh in on the difficult decision you need to make. Even when Jesus was facing the cross still had to make the decision to go through with it all. He went and prayed and he ended his prayer like this …. “Not my will but your will be done.” He let His Father weigh on the big decision He needed to make. This is one of the reasons we pray – to allow God to weigh in on difficult decisions that you need to make. When we turn our decisions over to God and we let him have a say about what we should do, His peace can overtake even the most chaotic circumstances. 

When we turn our decisions over to God and we let him have a say about what we should do, His peace can overtake even the most chaotic circumstances. It doesn’t necessarily mean God will make your life easier or more comfortable,  it simply means that God will remind you what the right thing to do is – just like he did Joseph. Things didn’t get easier for him just because he prayed. In fact his life got even more chaotic  but he still prayed and he listened.

Prayer changes your whole perspective on what is going on around you. Prayer reminds us that God is with us. When we are aware God is constantly with us, when we are aware of presence  everything changes. There might be chaos going on around you but one of the key things prayer does is remind us we are not alone.

In verse 24-25 we read,

“24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

Joseph listened to God and did what was asked of him to do. Joseph could had taken the easy way out and divorced her quietly or had her stoned by the religious leaders. His life would probably had been much easier. But he chose to do it the way God told him.

The only way to experience the peace of God is to do things His way. How do you know what His way is? The same way Joseph did. You wrestle with it and cry for help! You can bet on the fact it is going to be something that you don’t naturally like to do.

Like Paul in Romans 7:15,

“I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.”

The things God asks us to do aren’t natural. Meaning we won’t like to do them but they will have a kingdom affect if we do. Like Paul, we know what the right thing to do is but we end up doing the natural thing we hate. If it’s something you hate doing and hard for you to do ….. well …. It’s probably the Lord’s will …. Not always but it is highly likely. They are the things that help us mature as believers and sharpen us as Christ followers. His way is usually harder and his way usually requires personal sacrifice. The personal sacrifice is what makes it hard.

You can only find true peace, the peace you are longing for, through a relationship with Jesus Christ because His peace. He is the Prince of Peace.

That’s what this whole Christmas season is about,  reminding us that He is with us. If you haven’t noticed there is chaos going on all around us. Even in the midst of all this chaos. We need to be reminded that he is with us. Because when you know He is with you – you will experience peace.

Do you want peace in your life? Or comfort and ease?