Order and Chaos

The older I get the more OCD I become.   I know I know...this is a cliche thing to say these days, but it's honestly true.  Sometimes I literally drive myself nuts with the amount of time I spend thinking about the little things that need doing.   Stuff my husband wouldn't notice in 100 years, stands out to me like a highlighted line in a text book.    I haven't always been this way...I used to ignore dirty floors, or nail holes in the wall.   But I like order, cleanliness and precision.

Recently, This got me thinking about how we were created in the Lord's image.   Genesis 1:27 says it twice, as if to make sure you don't miss it the first time, "So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them."      No two people are the same, and that in and of itself speaks to the tremendous depth, and complexity of our Father, and of the gifts He has poured into each of us.

But the thing that strikes me and continues to amaze me as I think about it more and more, is that God is a God of order and clarity.  It tells us in 1 Corinthians 14:33, that He is a God of peace, not disorder.    He is by His very nature, organized, precise, and intentional.   He created a world with such structure and precision, that we are so deeply engrained with, It's easy to completely miss the Creator evidence all around us.   They are things we take for granted as "normal".  
We know the world is a fallen world, due to sin, and within that there is much chaos, hardship, brokenness, and calamity but...  
                                       His design was perfect.   His design reflects His character.
  He has given us the Grace to recognize and build upon some of these truths for our benefit, enjoyment, and development.   Things like Math, rhythm, Architecture, decorating, cooking... all come back to our God given ability to recognize pattern, structure, function, and plan....that already existed.   Other things like, law, government, schools, even jails....comes back to our God breathed ability and guidance to recognize order, growth, and peace....that already existed.   We did not create these things, we simply saw them around us and developed them into patterns, order, and function.

Think about music.   Rhythm itself, is just patterns.   So what turns it into music?  a melody, maybe some harmony, perhaps an instrument, layered over another.   But how do we even know what music is? Or have the ability to recognize when a note works with another, or a sound fits with another sound?    Even my husband, who does not sing and cannot play an instrument, can recognize a good song when it comes on the radio, or notice when someone sings flat...why?   What we know of as music, was built into the fabric of creation.   We are engrained with these principles by a creator who designed every detail down to the finest detail.  

Even our bodies recognize patterns and rhythms.   How often fo you wake up on a Saturday at the time when your alarm goes off Mon-Fri, even though you don't have too?   Or find yourself getting hungry the same times each day?
In our house, even our dogs have a schedule.   And they except us to follow it each day without exception.   They know what to expect and when to expect it....without a watch or calendar to look at.      I love this about the Lord's design.   I love that it shows the detail and great thought He put into His creation.  And how it speaks to an intelligent designer.  It reminds me of the passage that tells us "Even the rocks will cry out".   His creation speaks to His glory....even if we don't notice it.

As I looked up scripture related to chaos, what I noticed was this.  Who causes chaos in most cases?   We do.

Due to the Original Sin: Genesis 3:6-19
Due to Disobedience: Isaiah 24:5-6
Due to Wickedness: Genesis 6:5-7
Due to Pride: Jeremiah 49:31-32
Due to Hardened Hearts: Ephesians 4:18-19

What is the opposite of chaos?  peace.  And peace comes from the Lord

We are called to live in Peace: John 14:27
We are called to live in order:1 Corinthians 14:40
We are called to walk in obedience: Jonah 3:3
We are called to live in righteousness: Isaiah 32:17-18
We are called to dwell with Him: Psalm 91


Psalm 46:2-6 tells says "Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though the waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.    There is a river who's streams make glad the city of God.  The Holy place where the Most High dwells.  God is within her, she will not fall: God will help her at break of day.   Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall, He lifts His voice, the earth melts."

God is a God of peace and the creator of the universe.   In Romans 1:20 we read "For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities- His eternal power and divine nature-Have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.  
If He can build this amazing, complex, intricate world, full of creator evidence, that within it exists things like structure, order, function, and logic, all the while weaving throughout time and space the story of Love, Hope and Redemption, then surely He can keep us, protect us, and guide us today.