Thriving In The Midst Of Chaos, Part Two

Two weeks ago we took on the question of whether or not America is being judged by God. I gave my readers ten ways in which this might be happening here at the beginning of 2023 and asked them to reach their own conclusions.

Last week I followed that up with some thoughts about thriving in the midst of chaos.

More than likely you’ll agree with me that as God’s holy and chosen people (I Peter 2) we certainly need to understand the times in which we are living so that we can live wisely (Psalm 11:3) and serve God wisely (I Chronicles 12:32). 

Even if you won’t concede that America is being punished by God, I would guess that you’d admit that things are pretty chaotic in our country these days, and that Christians are struggling with the question of how they can thrive in the midst of the chaos.

 As someone who read a lot of the late, great Christian philosopher Frances Schaefer back in the 1970’s, I’ve been thinking about this subject for a long time.

So last week I shared these initial ways in which we can thrive, in spite of the “whatever” that our world sends our way.  Here they are again, along with two more.  My prayer is that you and yours are encouraged and blessed.

1. We can find our strength in God Himself.
2. We can offer the hope of the gospel to everyone, constantly.
3. We can resist the temptation to respond with hedonism or self-righteous separatism.
4. We can work with God in building the Kingdom of God by building the Church by making disciples.

Jesus said, “…I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it” (From Matthew 16:18).  Gates are defensive, not offensive.  The church was designed to be a proactive, powerful, offensive force for God, constantly storming the Devil’s walls and gates and rescuing those who are his captives (Ephesians 2:1-3).

Even before (see Matthew 5:10) Jesus gave this “Great Prediction” of Matthew 16, and between this prophecy and the better known “Great Commission” of Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8 etc., Jesus promised that His followers would be hated and persecuted:

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (John 15:18, and see vss. 19-25).

We can deduce from this that contempt and persecution at the hands of the unbelieving world cannot stop us from doing what we’ve been called to do: make disciples of Jesus everywhere.

Far from sitting around on hilltops waiting for the glorious return of Christ, as it seems some of the Thessalonian believers were doing (II Thessalonians 3), God wants us occupied with building the Church until He returns.

While we are instructed to pray for governmental authorities that they will leave us alone and allow us to proclaim the gospel freely (I Timothy 2:1-7), persecution has never stopped the Church from rescuing the lost and building the Kingdom of God.

If the Romans, the Nazis, the Soviets, and the Red Chinese have not been able to prevent Christians from making disciples, do we really think that the anti-Christian powerbrokers in the United States are going to stop us?

5. We can get good at loving people.

Of course Jesus wants his followers to be holy and godly – see the entirety of the Sermon on the Mount, for instance, in Matthew 5-7.

But in a religious world dominated by “holier than thou” hypocrites, such as many of the Pharisees and Scribes, Jesus gave his “tribe” one character trait which he wanted to them to embody as their outstanding, undeniable, obvious feature:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34,35).

Within an hour of speaking these words Jesus’ disciples would hear him pray: “May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:23).

This is the supreme apologetic – the irrefutable evidence for the truthfulness of our message. Our love and unity are to tell all who are watching that (1) we are Jesus’ followers, (2) Jesus was sent by God and, (3) Jesus’ followers are profoundly loved by God.  God’s love in us is a three-point sermon!

Holiness can be faked: sacrificial love can’t. Sacrificial love is our brand.

How are we doing with that?

And how far does that extend?  In Matthew 5:43-48 Jesus says that it extends to our enemies, or those who persecute us, to be even more specific.

Preachers used to joke that since we are commanded to love our enemies we’d better go out and make some enemies – if we don’t already have any – so we’ll have somebody to love.

I don’t think that’s much of a problem today.  If you live a godly life (II Timothy 3:12), share the intolerant good news about Christ (John 14:6), name the name of Jesus with reverence (John 15:21, I Peter 4:14), and refuse to plunge into the flood of dissipation your co-workers are plunging into after work (I Peter 4:4), you will be persecuted.

So the questions arise: Do you hate those who persecute you or do you love them?  Do you pray for their salvation or their destruction? Do you see them as sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36), as blind, deceived, victims of the devil (Ephesians 2:1-3), or as devils themselves?

I’ve shared five ways we can thrive in the midst of chaos.  Here they are again:

1. We can find our strength in God Himself.
2. We can offer the hope of the gospel to everyone, constantly.
3. We can resist the temptation to respond with hedonism or self-righteous separatism.
4. We can work with God in building the Kingdom of God by building the Church by making disciples.
5. We can get good at loving people.

All of this is possible because of the supernatural resources God has given us – His Word, His Spirit, His Grace, His Church – with which to thrive, not just survive, for His glory.