As a former basketball player, I was notorious for beating myself up when a game didn’t go my way or I had a bad practice. When it came to life, I carried that same approach. Whenever I made a bad decision, fell short at something and messed up I would hang my head low. I would be negative and feel like everything was my fault.
I am in a season in life now, where I am not as hard on myself for not meeting my standards, for not sticking to my goals and plans. I am not too sure if this is a good thing… I want to continue to push myself to be the best but I also want to leave room to not be so hard on myself that it causes me to stress out. Have you ever been there? Are you hard on yourself?
The definition of chaos is: A condition or place of great disorder or confusion. Notice the definition says, “a condition or place.” This goes back to the first paragraph when I talked about the chaos being mental. When my life seems to be chaotic, it always starts in my mind. Why is that? What I have learned is; what I dwell on, what I think about the most, is usually what I do or I am tempted to do. I’m all for breaking bad habits and creating new ones but at the same time it is so much easier said than done right? How can we as people, who tend to allow our lives, and our minds be in disarray, get out of this chaotic state of mind?
There’s a story of a young man who had graduated college and was hired on to work at the college he graduated from. All seemed to be going great in his life. He was making good money, his living was being provided for by the college, his meals were provided and so was his transportation. It seemed like nothing could go wrong in his life. Until one day, he was on a business trip for his job. He was stuck in a situation and he decided to take matters into his own hands. He would make a decision that would cost him everything. He would go on to lose his job, his living arrangements, and would be left to move on to nothing.
The young man regretful of the decision he had made realized life wasn’t as pleasant as it had once seemed. For the next two years he would go on to struggle. Feeling down and out, depressed, he was giving up on hope. His life had become chaotic. Having a relationship with God, he decided to turn to Him in the midst of all of His problems. (As most tend to do when life gets hard) He prayed an earnest prayer. Cried out with all of his heart and repented for all the wrong he had done. In return, God listened and spoke to the young man. God told the young man He would get his life in order, but first he had to live in obedience.
Putting into practice what God said, the young man would slowly start to see life changing for the better. 3 years later after losing his job, the young man is now living out his dreams. The young man realized, in the midst of chaos, God is already there waiting to hear from us. He also learned that it may take a few years to get to the place you dream of getting to but with much hard work, dedication and faithfulness, you can get there if you stay faithful to the course!
Key take away: When life seems to be at it’s worst, when it seems like nothing is going right, when it seems like the situation is never going to change, when it seems like life cannot get any better, this is when God brings His order. The all sufficient, powerful King, who has the touch to turn everything around in a matter of a heartbeat, is right there where you need Him to be. Your heart may be hardened because of the chaos that’s been going on in your life but I know for sure, you are right where you are suppose to be. Yes, it may have been your decisions that got you where you are or it may not have been. Whatever the case is, order is prevalent and God is ready to have His way in your life. Question is, are you ready?
Key Point: Most chaos in our lives is caused by our decision making. It is caused by our state of mind. It is caused by allowing an enemy or an oppressor if you will, sneak his way into our lives.
Key Scripture: Ephesians 4:18-24 “Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.”
God bless you. I love you and praying for you. Hang in there and do not give up. I know life isn’t always easy. The struggle defines our character. So let the struggle define how strong you are! You can make it!
