Posted in Its a CARNIVAL
God of order
From the beginning of creation God has been about doing things in order, having order and keeping order. He never brought chaos into the world. Chaos came when sin entered into the picture. The only time chaos was used by God in the Bible was to bring destruction and defeat to His enemies and the enemies of the Israelites.
We must understand, though, that order does not necessarily mean our definition of order. We can order our day until we are blue in the face but that does not mean we are in Gods will in the midst of that order. God wants us to desire His order for our lives. His plan is what brings order out of chaos.
The key here is Romans 12:2.
Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:2 (HCSB)
God wants us to want what He wants. His will is perfect and He desires that we want that perfect will and not our own will. How has this been manifest in my life? Here are a few thoughts
My struggle with order in my life
As I have moved through my life I have often made some bad choices based on what I wanted or thought I needed. That has resulted in a house full of stuff that means nothing in the bigger light of Gods Kingdom. In order to fill a void in my life that should have been filled with God I, instead, chose to fill it with stuff that only brought frustration and depression. The more stuff I put into my home the more overwhelmed I became. It has worked its way out in lots of things including me being overweight. I still struggle with this on a daily basis. My ideas about stuff have changed but I am still reaping the chaos that is a result of past behavior.
This time of year brings thoughts for me of spring cleaning and purging the home. The Israelites took time to do this in anticipation of Passover and other groups recognize this in the form of Lent. I believe it is a natural part of our makeup to clean house. We long for order in our very spirit. When we ignore that it only serves to frustrate and overwhelm us to the point that we become paralyzed and unable to wholly fulfill Gods plan for our lives. It is an epidemic!
I see it in my home in the stacks of stuff that lie around. I see the full cabinets, closets, drawers and garage. I see it in my overweight existence. I see it in my impatience with my family. I see it in my ministry life. In our schooling it keeps us from taking time to learn naturally through daily activities. I find myself sending the children out to play so that I can get something done. I used to be guilty of sticking them in front of the television just to get laundry and chores done. In doing my chores each day I find myself not knowing where to start. I have had to make lists and note cards just to move through the day and get something done. I also find myself staying up later and later just to get on top of the things that must be done each day. It is a daily dose of chaos and it handicaps me in every aspect of daily living.
I believe it most directly affects my time with God. It shortens the time that I have to spend in study and prayer. My mind often strays to the chaos that lay around me or to the list of things I have to do for the day. The days begin and the time that I should be focusing on God quickly moves out of reach because the day starts in emergency mode with no organization and order. Emergency mode and chaos become a way of life and then it seems that it is too late to get that time back. The need to start my day to seek Gods will for that day is thwarted by the chaos that calls me away. It is a vicious cycle that must stop.
A Way out of Chaos and into Gods Order
What in the world can be done? I believe that it must be reigned in. It all starts with the way that you look at your home and your stuff. Are you trying to live like the world by filling your home with stuff that people tell you that you need? Are you trying to keep up with the Joneses'? Is having the latest and greatest important to you? Then it begins with the renewing of your mind. How does God see all of this? Discernment, even in dealing with the things around us, is crucial. We must be discerning in EVERYTHING. That includes how you run your home or better yet, WHO is running your home.
The days must start in seeking Gods will. You have to clear the clutter and clean the slate in your mind before He can write your day out for you. You have to turn your days over to God and order your days according to His plan. My plan is no longer the agenda for the day but I will become more sensitive to what His plan is for the day. Where would He have me start? Part of the plan for me is purging this house a little more each day. It is also about putting in the priorities of the day first and letting some of the other stuff go. It is about stopping the cycle of buying and adding to what is already out of control. It is about teaching my children to trust God with their days so that they never have to feel what I have felt in this overwhelming mess. I must teach them that they are not entitled to just float through life while mommy does everything but that they become part of the team in Gods will for our home and life.
What happens when order begins? We have so much more time for what God has in store. We are able to school better. We have time for true ministry. We have the possibility of cooking a meal and taking it to someone who needs it. We can just stop where we are and be available at the drop of a pin. We can find things. We have time for more than cleaning. I get to sew again. I can learn new things and teach my children new things. We have time to go to the park for the afternoon just to enjoy each other. We have family meals and game nights. We do not wake up in emergency mode but instead have time to study Gods word, pray, and read together over breakfast. Everyone knows their job and does it. We move through the day as a team in harmony instead of chaos. We can hear God because there is nothing there to distract us from that still small voice anymore.
Where are you today? What is God calling you to change in order to be a part of His order? What will you do first? Today is a new day full of new mercies and God is calling you to join Him in His plan for your life. Will you ask Him to order your days?
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