I’ll bet if you stop and think about your life, you’d be able to identify at least a few times which could be labeled “chaotic”. I know for some people, the idea of a “few times'' would be grossly understated! I, myself, am a person who highly values stability and predictability and can get overwhelmed pretty quickly when things are out of whack. All my stress hormones activate when something happens as simple as my tractor not starting (which actually happened this week). “What am I going to do! I don’t have time for this! There’s so much I need this tractor for. I have mountains of leaves to take care of before they kill all the grass and the whole yard is a muddy mess! It’ll probably take forever to fix and be expensive too. How can I even get this thing to a repair shop? Why didn’t I learn more about engine repair? Aaargghh!!” On and on it goes...and this is all about a simple blip on the radar of life. Imagine what happens with a major one!
It seems people have been dealing with chaos since the beginning of time. And I seriously mean since the beginning of time. Looking back at the first chapter of Genesis in the Bible, we can already see a situation described as chaotic in Genesis 1:2
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
According to the Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon, the words “without form” and “void” are translations of the Hebrew words tohu and bohu. Tohu and bohu are often paired together in the Old Testament and portray a “place of chaos, formlessness, emptiness, a wasteland.”
The universe itself was described as chaotic before the Lord took action and brought some order to it. It’s interesting to think of the Holy Spirit hovering over it all, going to and fro, as if taking time to develop the best plan for establishing and developing the planet Earth and the whole universe beyond. What strikes me most is what the Lord does as the very first step: He turns the light on!! How wonderful is that? Think about it…when things are chaotic around you, one of the first things you need is some clarity to see what’s going on. Clarity may not be the total solution to bring order out of chaos, but it certainly is a major necessity if we want to best understand the situation we’re in, so that we can take a step to bring whatever order is in our power to do so.
After God turns the light on, the most amazing universe begins to take shape. The Creation is so awesome as it unfolds, that we can easily forget it all began with light to see with. This theme of light shining in the darkness continues throughout the Bible as a symbol of clarity, wisdom and understanding, safety and goodness. There are far too many scriptures about light to mention here, but here are a few of them:
Exodus 13 God gave a pillar of fire to give light at night for the escaping Israelite slaves.
Psalm 4:6 Let the light of your face shine upon us!
Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light for my path.
Isaiah 2:5 Let us walk in the light of the Lord!
Isaiah 60:19 The Lord will be your everlasting light.
The highlight of all the passages about light is that Jesus Christ himself is called the Light of the World!
John 1:4 In Him was life and that life was the light of the world.
What do we need to move from chaos to peace? We need clarity, understanding and wisdom… we need Jesus!! Even in the smallest things (like my tractor that wouldn’t work), it helps to start with turning on the light with a prayer to the one who knows all things. Quite literally I asked the Lord in my frustration what I could do to resolve my tractor situation. Sitting with that a while and running through a bunch of options that kept hitting dead ends, the thought came to me that maybe there was a mobile repairman who could come help me out. I googled “mobile small engine repair” and found a couple. I contacted one who immediately came out from Veneta on his Harley and who got my tractor running in less than 30 minutes! And not only was that a huge burden off my shoulders, but now I knew someone who could help in the future if I need him (and I surely will). In faith, I believe Jesus gave me the idea of a mobile repairman.
I know it may seem a little silly to apply the concept of light in the darkness, clarity out of chaos, to fixing a tractor that had gone kaput, but to me it confirms the notion that there is nothing too small or insignificant for Jesus to help us with. And at the same time, imagine how he can help with the major disruptions of our lives! We’ll certainly have both big and small moments of chaos throughout our lives. How reassuring to have a connection to the Light Himself as we make our way through to the other side.
About the Author
John lives in Pleasant Hill with his dog, Gunnar, and a multitude of guests who enjoy the peace and beauty of the Cascade foothills. With three children and three grandchildren all living in Oregon, he is continually blessed with their company and the good food that always accompanies their get-togethers!