One windy afternoon my kids asked to fly kites. I’ve only flown a kite ONCE in my entire life.  What could go wrong? 

When I found the kites used the previous year, I wanted to toss them in the trash and start new.  The string was knotted on all three kites!  What started as a small knot developed into an intertwined mass chaos. 

Living in an intertwined mass of chaos can be overwhelming.  The longer we pull and tug on that knotted up string in a fit of frustration, the more tangled and tied up it will become.

There are times in our lives when we need to just cut the cord, snip that knot out of there or hand over the string to someone more suited for the job. 

I have learned in my personal life how to live in a chaotic lifestyle while wearing my many hats. Although it’s not mastered, I’ve discovered all these areas in my life that get cluttered and messy the trick is to cling to the chaos instead of cower from it!

There is something special about chaos.  Chaos is good!  And here is why,

Christ  Has  An  Obvious  Solution!

In Genesis we see the beautiful creation from our God, Elohim, meaning the mighty Creator.  Everything was spoken into existence, a perfect peace.

Then came the very first introduction of chaos in our world, sin.  (Thanks Eve!)  The moment Eve sinned, she was utterly confused by her nakedness and in shame ran from The Creator of All and instead ran towards the Creator of Chaos. Sin birthed Chaos.  And from then on, it has been a downward spiral! 

Chaos is defined as ‘a state of utter confusion.‘

Much like the tiny knot in my carefully wrapped kite string, sin started out small then tangled into absolute chaos. 

IDENTIFY

When I first noticed that catch in the kite string, I instantly let out a heavy sigh, but not one of relief.  I tugged, I pulled, and mumbled under my breath as three eager little faces stared wide eyed, counting on me to fix it.

Christ warned us in John 16:33,

          “In this world you will have trouble.” 

Jesus Christ, the Son of the Elohim, the mighty Creator told us that chaos is going to happen. We are going to get a knotted-up string! 

Then what? 

THEN we must find the knot.  That moment I found the tiny knot in the string, I identified the source of the problem!

The source is and always will be rooted from the Creator of Chaos, Satan.  The chaos isn’t necessarily the problem, it’s what we do in the midst of the chaos that hurts us. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Take this world for instance, it’s in trouble!  The pandemic. Can We fix that?  Or a friends relationship that needs mending because of broken trust. Is that on US to resolve?  The loss of loved one that may leave an unfathomable emptiness. Is that OURS to fill? Or battles of the mind that consume and dig deeper than we can even comprehend.  Are those OURS to sort out alone? 

Although our Enemy is the same, he attacks us with different variations of turmoil that triggers our individual weaknesses.   But we need to remember that when we face disarray in this world, in our lives it proves one simple fact. Satan is terrified! He attacks when he feels threatened! He undermines when he feels contested! And he only reacts in such vulnerability when God is at work! (James 1:2-5)

EMBRACE

Once you’ve been able to pinpoint and identify those areas of your life that are so messy, so knotted up that it is affecting your livelihood, you can move forward and take the proper steps to EMBRACE His truth, when Jesus said,

           “I have told you these things so that IN ME, you may have peace.” 

In Me. These words are the meat of this passage.  If we want to experience His perfect peace we must see that Christ IS the obvious solution!  He is the ONLY solution. 

When you come across that knot so tight that even pulling with all your strength would only break the string, it’s time to surrender your hold.  Hand it over to the Creator who knows every aspect of the knot.  Who can see every tangle in the string and is the Only One who can resolve the perplexity of the problem.  (1 Peter 5:10)

OVERCOME

Christ assured us,  

           “…take heart!  I have overcome the world.“

We don’t need to overcome chaos, Christ already did that! We need only to abide IN HIM.

Using scissors attempting to fix the problem, I sadly made it worse.  My son chimed in with great creative ideas how to make it work, but with my defeatist attitude I said “I think I ruined it bud – sorry!”  He retorted with his optimistic attitude and forgiving heart saying, “It’s alright Mom, I still love you.” 

There is no knot too small that Jesus will not care about and no knot too big He can’t undo!  And just as my sweet son confirmed his love for me despite my greatest efforts, Jesus Christ affirmed His love for each of us by dying on the cross!  That was His way of saying “I love you!”

I surrendered my hand in fixing the kite and yes, challenges arose, but despite the knots, the kite flew!  High in the sky, free as a bird.  (Isaiah 40:31)

All I needed to do was simply IDENTIFY my need of a Savior. I EMBRACED Who Jesus is and truly believe that He willingly entered this world consumed by turmoil, endured the cross, bearing my sin and shame, all so that I may OVERCOME the chaos.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
-John 16:33

PRAYER: Lord God, thank You overcoming the chaos in this world! It is becoming more consuming, suffocating and evident of our need for You! May all the ears that hear, hear of Your glory and all the eyes that can see, see Your goodness! Humble our hearts to Who You are, Lord! Thank You, for overcoming so we don’t need to! Thank You for Your obvious solution which was through Your Son, Jesus Christ! We love You and serve You always! In Your Holy Name, Amen.

CHALLENGE:
Memorize John 16:33. Whenever a chaotic thought or situation overwhelm you, meditate on His Word and find peace. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep in perfect peace those who minds are steadfast because they trust in you.”
Seek out His perfect peace this week.