The result of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever.  Then my people will dwell in a peaceful place, in safe and secure dwellings.  Isaiah 32:17-18  HCSB

Take a minute to read the scripture passage once more.  Let the words like peace, quiet confidence, safe and secure really sink in.  But then look at the first sentence.  It tells us that these things result from righteousness.

If you have been experiencing chaos in your life, but long for peace then let me tell you there is hope.  You see God does not intend for us to live out our lives in turmoil.  The Bible clearly tell us in 1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.  As in all the churches of the saints.

So now that we know that the Bible tells us that God wants us to have peace in our lives, how do we go about getting that peace?  Or maybe first we need to answer, how do we get rid of the chaos?  When we are sick, we normally like to know what causes it.  So what causes chaos?

Well, a number of things cause chaos.  For example, when we are unprepared normally things become chaotic. When I was working, simple things like putting my things out the night before and making sure I had everything that I needed for the day made my day go much smoother.  Putting money aside when I know that I have a big expense coming up makes it much easier to pay this large bill.  I am the world’s worst procrastinator so I have learned to do the important stuff first. Now you are saying, what about the things that we can’t prepare for because we don’t know they are coming?  Well, that is where that righteousness comes in.  You see when we practice God’s righteousness and we know that He has our back, then we also know that we can weather any storm headed our way.

Another thing that causes chaos is when we do things that we know we shouldn’t do.  If you eat junk food all the time, you are going to have health problems.  If you smoke, you are going to have health problems.  If you drink too much, even soft drinks, you are going to have health problems.  Some of us experience what I like to call self-induced chaos.  We do things like eat foods that we know are awful for our bodies, don’t get enough sleep, don’t drink enough water, don’t exercise and fail to follow doctor’s orders or take prescribed meds and then wonder why we feel so badly.  Sin looks as good as a big piece of chocolate cake, but it brings nothing but chaos into your life.

Now if you have been living a life of chaos and you are really tired of it, then there is something you can do.  You can give it all over to God.  Yep, you can just hand it over to Him.  Now where most of us have trouble is that we like to hang on to a corner of it.  We keep our hands on it just in case.  Which is really hysterical when you think about it.  I mean it’s like we are thinking just in case God can’t handle it, we still have a hold on it.  You better let that go.  It’s way too big for you and nothing is too big for God, so just let it go.  When we do this it’s like we have forgotten that God spoke the universe into existence.  We have forgotten that He is God.  Holding on just made me miserable.

Finally one day when I could no longer deal with the stress, I cried out to God.  God made it clear to me that I had to let it go and give it over to Him.  I didn’t know what else to do, so I did.  Wow, what a relief that was.  God then destroyed the situation in my life that was my excuse for my sin.  He leveled it like a bull dozer.  My life had become like a house that was filled with termites or black mold.  God just destroyed it and rebuilt a strong structure that was safe and secure.  Once I gave it over to Him, I had to trust Him.  I had to focus on Him and do what He was calling me to do. I could no longer excuse my sin.  I had to get right with God.

Now this is where that whole righteousness thing came into play.  You see, once I got right with God, I didn’t want to sin.  I wanted to do what He wanted me to do.  I wanted to please Him.  Thank God I did, because some hard times were coming my way.  A year later, my beautiful baby niece almost died and spent a month in the hospital.  A year after that my Dad passed away.  Two years after that my mom broke her hip and was diagnosed with dementia.  A year later she came to live with me.  Now you may read this  and say,  “Wow, you just got more turmoil added to your life”.  No, you see God gave me peace.  We are going to face difficult times with or without God.  But with God they will be so much easier.  You see, my Dad had gotten saved five years prior to His death.  So, I wasn’t telling him good bye, I was just saying, “see you later”.  My niece not only survived, but has thrived, well above and beyond the best case scenario that the doctor’s predicted.  My mom is the same pleasant, kind hearted Christian person that she was prior to the dementia.  I am blessed to spend this time with her.  God also blessed me with Christian women to sit with her when I can’t be there.

So, today think about when the hard times come, and they will come.  Are you prepared?  Are you in that close relationship with God where you are dwelling in that peaceful place of safety and security that only He provides?  You can if you want to.  You just need to give it all to Him.  You need to trust Him to care for you.  It will be the best decision you ever made.

My prayer for you today is that you are living a peaceful life free of chaos and turmoil.  But if you are not, don’t fear, you can change that.  Just give it all to God. He’s got this!

Have a great day!