For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
I Corinthians 14:33
There’s a magnetic quality to nature that’s hard to define. Perhaps this attraction lies in its aesthetics. Lush green fields that stretch as far as the eye can see, the faint but distinct blue line where ocean meets sky or the contours and slopes of hillsides are all powerful dopamine release triggers. So is the thrill and intellectual curiosity generated by discovering the extent of plant and animal diversity on display. RIP Steve Irwin. And let’s not forget the rich variety of sounds exploring the outback offers: the composite parts of nature’s song in any other setting might not seem exciting yet there’s a calmness provoked by birds’ and crickets’ chirps in unison with the trickle of flowing streams.
These are all plausible explanations but there’s also one reason that’s often overlooked: interconnectedness aka ecosystems. A singular chemical molecule cycles through individual physical and biological systems several times a day powering different functions in air, soil, plant and animal. To the discerning, it’s also a bit of a wonder how convenient it is that the waste product of one species is another’s primary source of nutrition. Some would argue that nature’s “order” is its most intriguing quality and if you figure that all that was created are an expression of the Creator, it doesn’t take a lot to connect the dots. Order and organisation are a pretty big deal to God. Genesis 1:1 might as well read, “In the beginning, God created order out of chaos”.
Yet disorder kept slithering its way into the picture necessitating intervention after intervention to restore divine order: expulsion from the Garden (Genesis 3), the flood (Genesis 6-9), Sodom and Gomorrah’s fate (Genesis 18-19), the temple purge (Matthew 21:12-13) and the crucifixion (Matthew 27) are all testaments to how much He abhors chaos as well as how far He’ll go to protect His masterpiece. While a disordered state is pretty obvious, its origins are often subtle and insidious: lack of faith in the Word (Genesis 3) and perversion of purpose (Genesis 3; Genesis 18-19; Matthew 21:12-13) often lead us out His divine will.
Our ability to withstand attempts to derail us from His divine purpose might very well be influenced by how secure we are in our identities. To illustrate this, let’s look at two distinct encounters in Genesis and the Gospels.
With his garments still dripping from being dipped in the Jordan River, Jesus was led of the Spirit into the wilderness. Unsurprisingly, he was the subject of multiple attempts by the devil to truncate the divine order that would lead to mankind’s redemption; however, we are only privy to the verbiage of three of these exchanges. Despite the varied nature of the temptations (the lust of the flesh -bread; the lust of the eyes- earth's kingdoms; and the pride of life – angelic protection) the consistency of his responses is instructive; each one beginning with “It is written”. This suggests a reflective process where He really did consider the devil’s suggestions and probably saw the rationale behind them BUT was disciplined enough to pause each time and compare the recommended course of action against the conditions stipulated in the Word. He was so versed in the words of the Pentateuch and Prophets that He couldn’t be caught lacking (in today’s parlance) even when distracted by fleshly urges. Small wonder John refers to Him as the living Word (1 John 1:11, John 1:1; John 1:14). He was secure in His identity and dismissed the need to “prove” this to anyone; choosing instead to focus on fulfilling His purpose.
In Genesis 3 we find details of a similar encounter with a different outcome. We all know how the first couple were beguiled and ended up abandoning the divine order for the same trifecta of lusts (flesh, eyes, pride of life); however, what was the inciting stimulus? Hunger, hormones or the desire to be Master and Commander? We’re told these were consequences rather than causes of the rebellion in the Garden. Apparently, Adam and Eve “sinned” when they “doubted” that the Word they had been given was in their best interest. Doubt prompted disobedience and they fell even before touching the forbidden fruit. We’ll probably never know what led to the seeds of doubt being sown in their minds. Living in a tiny Garden when you had been promised the whole earth? Restrictions on what you could and could not touch while in the Garden? The desire to help facilitate things with the arm of flesh due to disquiet at the pace with which the divine order was being played out? Who knows? However, what we can learn from how Jesus handled the same scenario many millennia later is that absolute faith in God’s word and His ability to bring it to pass is the only way to stay on track and avoid the unwanted consequence- disorder. Apostle Paul put it succinctly when he said “ ....even though He was the Son, yet He had to learn obedience through suffering” (Hebrews 5:8).
Patience isn’t just a virtue but a reflection of our obedience to His will and acceptance of His divine timing and order in our lives.
Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.
Jeremiah 1:12 NKJV
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:11 NKJV
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ
Philippians1:6 NKJV
