From Chaos to Contentment


I don't like to feel out of control. I believe that everything should have its place and I like for those things to be in their proper place. I prefer to be the one driving unless I am sick or it is a really long road trip. I have a seat in our house that is MY seat and I don't like to turn it over to the boys or the cats.

Well, being in control and packing to move to a new town are two things that so not go hand in hand. Yes, I try to keep a little bit of control by organizing where we store the filled boxes, helping the boys fill their boxes up rather than leave a lot of empty space, marking the boxes with descriptions of what is inside, etc. But in reality I know that I have lost control. It is a hot mess: complete disarray but with a semblance of order.

After a day of packing I sat in my seat and my wife sat in her seat in a room that we have labeled as the adult's room and we watched the most recent episode of Downton Abbey. It was a nice, quiet time  when I could just sit and sip my ice-tea and enjoy some mindless entertainment. And I thought to myself: Isn't it amazing how something so simple can help set things right?

That thought led me to a song; which most of my thoughts do. And as I turned off the AppleTV I was humming Have Faith in God. A simple hymn that reminds us to have faith because God is on His throne, because God watches over us, because God cannot fail, because God will prevail. Have faith in God. Have faith in God.

Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for,

the proof of what is not seen. (Hebrews 11:1, HCSB)


By faith we understand that the universe was created by God. By faith Noah built an ark. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down. By faith Mary and Joseph parented the Son of God. By faith the disciples left everything for Jesus. By faith we accept that Jesus is the one and only way to heaven.

I cannot control everything no matter how much I might try. Many things I have had to let go of and have faith that God will take care of the details. I don't have the knowledge, the experience, or the resources to plant a church. But God does.

In the midst of all the chaos, it is the simple things in life that bring contentment. Have faith in God.

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