Calm in the Chaos

Introduction

We have elected a president who is very unique in our nation’s history. Only once before has a man served non consecutive terms. And never has a President endured more persecution than Donald Trump. His first term he went in having never served in office - he didn’t know who to trust, and didn’t know how the town worked. The whole machine was against him so in spite of his lofty ambitions, he was unable to accomplish much of what he wanted. Now whether you think that’s a good thing or not isn’t relevant to this message, because this message isn’t really about Donald Trump, but we have to talk about him a little bit to understand the current world we are living in.

This time around, Trump knows who to trust, he knows who’s got their knives out for him, and he knows how the whole system works. He’s been plotting and planning for the last four years, and has hit the ground running at a blistering pace because he knows he only has four years to get this done.

He is a big fan of the The Art of War- a book about military strategy and tactics. Sun Tzu emphasized the importance of using disorder to one's advantage. He believed that in the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity. One of his famous quotes is: “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”

It has become evident that Donald Trump has chosen to cause the maximum amount of chaos in order to confound the dishonesty of the media and democrat establishment. He is throwing so much at them all at once, that they haven’t really been able t come up with a cohesive attack against him. Nevertheless, his tactics have also caused some angst and uncertainty upon the people in general.

Prophetic Word

Back in the middle of January, God spoke to me and told me that a time of great chaos was coming, but that I was to hold tight to Him, because the shaking was meant to dislodge the wicked from amongst the righteous. As I prayed about what to speak about today, He reminded me about that word, and added to me the charge that I should speak about staying calm in the chaos.

Building a Tripod

When I was doing photography, I could always tell who the good photographers were by how much they invested in a one particular piece of equipment. It wasn’t the lenses - though that was important, and it wasn’t the brand or bells and whistles on the camera. It was actually the tripod. You know that you are talking to a real pro if they are discussing their Manfrotto or their Gitzo with great enthusiasm, and they actually believe that the arm and the leg that they had to pay for it was well worth it.

Why a tripod? Well one of the best ways to get tack-sharp photos is to keep the camera completely immobile. But why three legs? Because four legs is harder to level than three. Three legs can not only support you, but it can do so with stability. Think of a three legged stool. It is much more secure on uneven ground than a four legged park bench. Have you ever sat down to eat at a restaurant only to have the table rocking back and forth the whole time? If it were thre-legged, it wouldn’t do that.

So today, in chaotic uneven times, we are building a tripod.

Focus on Faith

The first leg of our tripod is to focus on faith.

Matthew 14:22–33 TLV

Right away, Yeshua made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the hillside by Himself to pray. And when evening came, He was there alone. But the boat was already a long way from land, tossed around by the waves, for the wind was against it. Now in the fourth watch of the night, Yeshua came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It’s a ghost!” And they cried out with fear. But immediately, Yeshua spoke to them, saying, “Take courage! I am. Don’t be afraid.” Answering, Peter said to Him, “Master, if it’s You, command me to come to You on the water.” And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water to go to Yeshua. But seeing the wind, he became terrified. And beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Master, save me!” Immediately Yeshua reached out His hand and grabbed him. And He said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You really are Ben-Elohim!”

We have all heard many sermons preached about Peter. My favorite ones alway talk about how as long as Peter focused on Jesus, he was able to walk on the water, but when he took his eyes off of Him and instead noticed the wind and waves, he would sink. But what those sermons forget to mention, is that even in spite of his lack of faith, Jesus did not let him sink! Beloved, it is better not to sink, it is better to keep our eyes on Jesus in the midst, but isn’t it good to know that even though we may not always be up to the task of keeping our eyes on Him, He keeps us from drowning? Our problem is that if we have not cultivated our relationship with Him enough, we may not even notice when He has a hold of us. We need to stay committed to prayer and the word, to personal worship, so that when the trial comes we are ready to trust in Him. To this end, I would recommend that if you don’t already have a Daily Devotion that you do, please find one and commit to doing it each day. Guard the word in your heart, memorize key passages and you’ll always have them at the ready when the chaos strikes.

Trust in Truth

The second leg of our tripod is to trust in truth. As we found out this week, one of the first casualties in the time of chaos is the truth. There are many wolves out there that would seek to take advantage of the chaos and through false information out there to advance their narrative.

John 10:11–18 TLV

“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. The hired worker is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. He sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and flees. Then the wolf snatches and scatters the sheep. The man is only a hired hand and does not care about the sheep. “I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not from this fold; those also I must lead, and they will listen to My voice. So there shall be one flock, one Shepherd. “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life, so that I may take it up again. No one takes it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father.”

We trust no man. We place our trust in the one who is “the way, the truth, and the life”. The shepherd is with the sheep in the most dangerous of situations. Whenever we have a situation where the truth is in question, rather than flip to a place of fear, we put our trust in Messiah. When times are uncertain and chaotic, is when we should really be digging into our prayer time to seek guidance and reassurance, and mostly to seek God’s will in our lives. Again, when the noise and uncertainty rises, seek guidance from scripture, through prayer and of course godly counsel. Now is the time that we should be praying for discernment because during the fog that chaos brings, we need to be able to discern the truth from a lie, and even in the best of circumstances, that’s not always so easy. It’s important, as we saw this week, that we seek the advice and reassurance from trusted leaders and our church community. As a body, it’s often easier to discern the truth than it is when we are being whipped into a frenzy by the chaos in the world.

Peace in Prayer

The final leg of our tripod is of course, our old trusty and one of my favorite passages of scripture.

Philippians 4:6–7 TLV

Do not be anxious about anything—but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the shalom of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Messiah Yeshua.

Things could not have been more chaotic for Paul than when he was thrown in prison. He was doing what God commanded him, why then, was he suffering so? Paul didn’t sit there and complain to God about his predicament, nor did he share his frustration with his fellow prisoners, no Paul took a completely different approach.

Acts 16:22–25 TLV

Then the crowd joined in the attack on them. So the chief authorities ripped their clothes off them and commanded them to be beaten with rods. After inflicting many blows on them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to guard them securely. Having received this charge, he threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. But about midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

What were Paul and Silas doing? Now, I’m not saying they weren’t bringing their concerns to God, what I am saying is that like he instructed in Philippians 4, they weren’t complaining about it look what it says, “Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God”. It seems to me that there is a recurring theme here, that during this time of chaos, prayer is the key to maintaining our peace. Prayer is powerful because when we can always bring our concerns to God. His reassurance is this.

1 Peter 5:7 TLV

Cast all your worries on Him, for He cares for you.

One of the most powerful ways that you can have peace is by keeping a prayer journal. Not only write down what the prayer was, but also the answer to the prayer. Go back during times of trouble and you can read of the goodness of God in your own life.

Putting it all Together

There will be additional stuff that comes up in the upcoming weeks and months that will at times have us reeling. Not just from the stuff that happens in the political arena, but the word of God that came to me spoke of shaking the wicked from amongst us, that being the case, you know that the wicked won’t go without a fight. It is crucial that we, as believers stand ready and stand firm. We need to be ready to reach out to each other at a moment’s notice, we need to gird ourselves up with prayer and the word to stay connected with Jesus. We need to count on the Holy Spirit and each other for discernment because we know the adversary is very shrewd and would love nothing more than to deceive us and take our peace and leave us in fear. We can stand faith in even the most chaotic and uneven ground by setting up our tripod.

Focus on Faith

Trust in Truth

Peace in Prayer

By focusing on our tripod, we can stay centered on Jesus amidst the chaos and uncertainty that we are esperiencing.

Let us Pray