Is there Such a Thing as Chaos
Is there such a thing as chaos?
By: Dr. Danny Purvis
I am increasingly amazed how God can use any Believer to accomplish His will. I mean…who are we to the God of the universe Who can whatever He wishes to do? In fact, Jesus once made this point when He was ordered by the religious leaders to keep His disciples quiet. He gave an interesting answer. He said: “If these are quiet the very rocks will cry out” (Luke 19:40). Meaning that as far as our abilities go…we are as useful to Him as a box of rocks. He does not need us. The truth is much more amazing…He wants us. He desires to use His children to accomplish His will. In Ephesians 2:10 Paul writes that He created us in Him for good works. That remains an amazing fact to me. But perhaps even more amazing is His desire to use those who are not His to accomplish His will.
All things serve the living God. God used Herod, Pilate, Pharoah, Judas, evil rulers and pagan authorities to accomplish His will. And that is both amazing…and comforting. Because often times when those people are in positions of authority it seems as if chaos rules. But that is not the case. In a few months we will have another election. And the same thing that always happens will happen again. Half the country will be ecstatic…the other half will tell us the world is coming to an end. Every four years…the same thing. It has been that way for decades. And yet…the world goes on. There are predictions of chaos that never seem to really manifest themselves in any meaningful way. The reason? There is no such thing as chaos. Why? All things serve the living God…that’s why.
I have always been particularly fascinated with the story of Balaam. If you are not familiar with his story, simply read Numbers chapter 22-25. I won’t go over the entire event, but let me give you the highlights. As the children of Israel arrived near the Promised Land, they did not go unnoticed. Considering that they probably numbered around 2 million people, it would be hard to go unnoticed. The king of Moab at that time, Balak, absolutely took notice of them. He knew he could not defeat them militarily, so he came up with a different plan. He contacted a man named Balaam. Balaam was a pagan and a user of divination and witchcraft. Apparently he had quite the reputation. Balak tried to hire Balaam to curse the Israelites in order to weaken them. However, God spoke to Balaam and told him instead to pronounce a blessing over Israel. And, to Balaam’s credit, he did exactly that because he feared to disobey God. Balak tried three times…and three times Balaam blessed the Israelites instead of cursing them. An incredible event that shows God working His will even for those who are not His. But that’s not the end of the story.
In Numbers 31 we are told that eventually Balaam did serious harm to Israel. He encouraged the Moabite and Midianite women to seduce and intermarry with the available Israelite men in direct contradiction to God’s command for Israel NOT to intermarry with pagans. He tells us why in 1 Kings. He told His people not to do that because they would be swayed by pagan idolatry so their hearts would be turned away from God. And what happened? King Solomon, the wisest man to walk on the planet, married pagan wives and his heart was turned away from God. That was precisely Balaam’s plan as well. To weaken them from the inside. As a result, every time Balaam’s name is mentioned in the rest of the Bible, he is listed as a false prophet. He introduced chaos into the lives of the entire nation. The key takeaway here though is that there is no such thing as chaos when God is in control. Even if it looks that way to us. It serves God’s ultimate purpose.
The word chaos carries with it the idea of things spinning completely out of control. But with God…nothing is outside of His control. The disciples had to have believed with all of their heart that chaos was reigning when Jesus was arrested. In Zechariah 13:7 we are told, “when the shepherd is struck the sheep will scatter”. This, of course, was a prophecy describing what would happen when Jesus was arrested. It, of course, came true. When Jesus was arrested the disciples did indeed scatter. So much so that it is reported that John was the only disciple who was actually physically present at Jesus’ crucifixion.
And that’s the point. All they could see what chaos when their Savior was arrested, brutalized, and murdered…and by His own people. Things for them were spinning out of control. Little did they know that this “chaos” would be used by God to give us the most precious gift that could be bestowed upon any person: The gift of salvation and the forgiveness of sin. No matter what it looks like to us. Not matter how out of control things seem to be to us. It is not true. God is working His will through His people…and He is working His will through people who hate Him. And that should give us more peace than we could possibly understand. All we have to do is remember…all things serve the living God…whether we see it or not.
By: Dr. Danny Purvis
I am increasingly amazed how God can use any Believer to accomplish His will. I mean…who are we to the God of the universe Who can whatever He wishes to do? In fact, Jesus once made this point when He was ordered by the religious leaders to keep His disciples quiet. He gave an interesting answer. He said: “If these are quiet the very rocks will cry out” (Luke 19:40). Meaning that as far as our abilities go…we are as useful to Him as a box of rocks. He does not need us. The truth is much more amazing…He wants us. He desires to use His children to accomplish His will. In Ephesians 2:10 Paul writes that He created us in Him for good works. That remains an amazing fact to me. But perhaps even more amazing is His desire to use those who are not His to accomplish His will.
All things serve the living God. God used Herod, Pilate, Pharoah, Judas, evil rulers and pagan authorities to accomplish His will. And that is both amazing…and comforting. Because often times when those people are in positions of authority it seems as if chaos rules. But that is not the case. In a few months we will have another election. And the same thing that always happens will happen again. Half the country will be ecstatic…the other half will tell us the world is coming to an end. Every four years…the same thing. It has been that way for decades. And yet…the world goes on. There are predictions of chaos that never seem to really manifest themselves in any meaningful way. The reason? There is no such thing as chaos. Why? All things serve the living God…that’s why.
I have always been particularly fascinated with the story of Balaam. If you are not familiar with his story, simply read Numbers chapter 22-25. I won’t go over the entire event, but let me give you the highlights. As the children of Israel arrived near the Promised Land, they did not go unnoticed. Considering that they probably numbered around 2 million people, it would be hard to go unnoticed. The king of Moab at that time, Balak, absolutely took notice of them. He knew he could not defeat them militarily, so he came up with a different plan. He contacted a man named Balaam. Balaam was a pagan and a user of divination and witchcraft. Apparently he had quite the reputation. Balak tried to hire Balaam to curse the Israelites in order to weaken them. However, God spoke to Balaam and told him instead to pronounce a blessing over Israel. And, to Balaam’s credit, he did exactly that because he feared to disobey God. Balak tried three times…and three times Balaam blessed the Israelites instead of cursing them. An incredible event that shows God working His will even for those who are not His. But that’s not the end of the story.
In Numbers 31 we are told that eventually Balaam did serious harm to Israel. He encouraged the Moabite and Midianite women to seduce and intermarry with the available Israelite men in direct contradiction to God’s command for Israel NOT to intermarry with pagans. He tells us why in 1 Kings. He told His people not to do that because they would be swayed by pagan idolatry so their hearts would be turned away from God. And what happened? King Solomon, the wisest man to walk on the planet, married pagan wives and his heart was turned away from God. That was precisely Balaam’s plan as well. To weaken them from the inside. As a result, every time Balaam’s name is mentioned in the rest of the Bible, he is listed as a false prophet. He introduced chaos into the lives of the entire nation. The key takeaway here though is that there is no such thing as chaos when God is in control. Even if it looks that way to us. It serves God’s ultimate purpose.
The word chaos carries with it the idea of things spinning completely out of control. But with God…nothing is outside of His control. The disciples had to have believed with all of their heart that chaos was reigning when Jesus was arrested. In Zechariah 13:7 we are told, “when the shepherd is struck the sheep will scatter”. This, of course, was a prophecy describing what would happen when Jesus was arrested. It, of course, came true. When Jesus was arrested the disciples did indeed scatter. So much so that it is reported that John was the only disciple who was actually physically present at Jesus’ crucifixion.
And that’s the point. All they could see what chaos when their Savior was arrested, brutalized, and murdered…and by His own people. Things for them were spinning out of control. Little did they know that this “chaos” would be used by God to give us the most precious gift that could be bestowed upon any person: The gift of salvation and the forgiveness of sin. No matter what it looks like to us. Not matter how out of control things seem to be to us. It is not true. God is working His will through His people…and He is working His will through people who hate Him. And that should give us more peace than we could possibly understand. All we have to do is remember…all things serve the living God…whether we see it or not.
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