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Be still.
Be quiet.
Listen.

Sometimes, when the world around us seems to spiral and spin off each page of every day, we need to stop.

Pause.
Reflect.

There is so much chaos in the world right now.
Our world is replete with

slavery,
murder,
racism,
legalism . . . 

A world where innocents
are not free
and people are held captive
to their prejudices.
A world where it has become easy
to see another . . . as less than human.

This world of violence and tragedy and sorrow, this world of suffering, will one day come to an end when a new one begins – God’s everlasting kingdom on heaven and earth. But let me tell you something: God’s kingdom of peace, light and love has already begun.

Imagine a world of peace and perfection.
Imagine a world where the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords knows your name.

This kingdom began 2,000 years ago when one man – Jesus Christ, died so we could have access to it, be free from the shackles of sin and death, and live an abundant life.

When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he instructed them to say:
“Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

The kingdom of God is directly tied to the will of God; and God’s will is according to his Word, the Bible (Hebrews 4:12).

So, if we are not reading the Bible and applying it to our daily lives, then we cannot be living in the will of God and we . . . might not be in the kingdom of God.

Yes, I just went there. Now, don’t misquote me – I don’t think we enter God’s kingdom by knowing the Bible better than everyone else. The Pharisees, the ones who despised Jesus and couldn’t see the Messiah staring at them in the face, knew the Bible better than anyone else in their time.

But who were Jesus’s first followers? The hated and despised and the outcasts of society (a prostitute, a tax collector, stinky fishermen . . . ) However, these ordinary men and women gave up their entire lives to follow the “Word” of God (John 1).

Now more than ever, we need the impact of the radical and true Word of God (Jesus Christ).

In the book of Revelation, a letter is addressed to the church of Thyatira regarding their adultery towards God. Some strong allusions and imagery are used, which is probably why this church isn’t preached from the pulpit often, to refer to how the congregants of this church were (literally) getting in bed with those who practice outright false religion and immorality like the murderess Jezebel and her prophets.

Now, to those who wished to stay faithful to God until the end, Jesus told them to “hold fast” to what they knew – the truth of the Word of God. Now to “hold fast” to something, in the Greek, meant to literally guard and protect it.

They were to literally hold onto the truth while the world, culture and society around them was ripped into chaos as the lines of morality obliterated.

Have you ever been tubing out on a lake? What’s the most important thing to do while you are riding on your inner tube as the boat intentionally sends you bumps and waves in your direction?

Hold on.

Our world is full of bumps and waves right now. So where do we go? What do we listen to? Do we panic as we see the storms around us like the disciples did in Mark chapter 4?

Or do we have faith that the Word of God will literally be powerful enough to stop the wind and the rain and the terrors of this life?

Do we have faith that Jesus will say, “Be still!” and create a great calm in our hearts (Mark 4:39)?

God’s kingdom is coming, and those who are living in his will can experience his kingdom now, on earth, as he reigns in our hearts and offers us a life and a purpose greater than anything we can ever imagine for ourselves.

So please,

Hold on.

There is a kingdom coming that will make all things right and all things new (Revelation 21:5).

Don’t let go of God’s Word – protect it in your heart and in your mind and let it guide you to live in God’s will.

In love and truth,
Melody

Copyright © 2020 by Melody Turner @ https://honest-maybe-relatable.com/2020/07/25/in-a-world-of-chaos/Used with permission. No part of this article may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from Lifeword.org.