Scripture
2 Timothy 4:3-4
“A time will come when people will not listen to accurate teachings. Instead, they will follow their own desires and surround themselves with teachers who tell them what they want to hear. 4 People will refuse to listen to the truth and turn to myths.”
Romans 12:2
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Reflection
I have been thinking a lot lately about what has been happening in the world and as I was thinking the song “Land of Confusion” came to mind and in particular the following lyrics;
“Now, did you read the news today?
They say the danger has gone away
But I can see the fire's still alight
They're burning into the night
There's too many men, too many people
Making too many problems
And there's not much love to go around
Can't you see this is the land of confusion?
This is the world we live in
And these are the hands we're given
Use them and let's start trying
To make it a place worth living in”1
We truly seem to be living in a land of confusion. It was challenging enough these past couple of years with the way that the world has changed. Everything that we had known as ‘normal’ has changed and everything that we seemed to count on has changed and many of us feel like we have been cut adrift from those things that used to anchor us in our lives. Now it seems as if the world has gotten even more crazy. I was on the phone with someone the other day and they mentioned that it was like they no longer recognized the world in which we live. They lamented that fact that so much has changed and it is really difficult to even know what to think these days, let alone to know what we are supposed to do in response to what is happening in the world. They are correct! How do we respond in the midst of so much chaos and confusion in the world? What are we supposed to do in the face of all that is happening? I admit that I have been asking myself these same questions and, if I am honest with myself and with you, I have not done a good job of dealing with many situations with which I am faced. I have really begun to react to things rather than to stop for a moment and think.
I have a friend who lives in New York City and he has lived a life quite unlike many others. He is a small Puerto Rican man who grew up in the Bronx in New York City. Somehow, even he is not sure how, he worked himself into the music business and is one of the individuals who originally signed Metallica to their first record deal. He has pictures of himself with numerous famous individuals, and yet his life has been full of struggle, chaos, and confusion. He was successful, popular, and, in some ways, powerful, but his life was confusing and chaotic. Through a great deal of work his life is now calm, even in the face of confusion and chaos, and so I would like to share with you something that he wrote; “I must rely on God. I must trust in Him to the limit. I must depend on the Divine Power in all human relationships. I will wait and trust and hope, until God shows me the way. I will wait for guidance on each important decision. I will meet the test of waiting until a things seems right before I do it. Every work for God must meet this test of time. The guidance will come, if I wait for it.” To trust and wait for God in the midst of these confusing and chaotic times. To trust that God will show us the way through these times, that is what we are called to do as Christians. As I said, I have been reacting to this world in a rather negative way, maybe I need to take a step back, to wait with patience for clarity in the midst of the confusion and only then move forward as God calls me to move forward. It is about cultivating a sense of trust during these confusing times. It is about seeing the confusion and knowing that we will come through this time and that we, as Christians, might just be called to be the calm centre in the midst of the storm. To continue to speak words of truth in the midst of chaos. To continue to speak words of love in the midst of so much hatred. To continue to be God’s people in a world that needs a calming influence. That might just be who we are called to be during these times.
Prayer
God of watching and waiting, I pray today that I may meet the test of waiting for your guidance. I pray that I have the wisdom to slow down, to not react to the confusion in this world, that I will not go off on my own but rather cultivate a sense of patience as I wait for your guidance. Help me to see how others are suffering and to offer compassion instead of judgment. Give me the strength to be a calm centre in the midst of the storm, to continue to speak love and compassion in this world full of judgement and hatred. We ask this in the name of the one who faced the chaos and hatred of this world with love and compassion, your son, Jesus. Amen
1. Land of Confusion, written by Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins, Anthony Banks, released October 31, 1986.