Crushing Chaosਨਮੂਨਾ

REST FOR YOUR SOUL

When I was in the eighth grade, I memorized the first question and corresponding answer of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. These words have ordered my life in the most profound way: “What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God . . . and to enjoy him forever.”

Our chief end is not to pursue and find our own happiness. When happiness becomes our main objective, it creates chaos.

Our chief end is not to discover our destinies. When individual achievement becomes our primary focus, it creates chaos.

Our chief end is not to amass wealth. It isn’t to live out our sexual desires. When those objectives usurp the chief end for which we were created, we multiply chaos on this planet.

The chief end of humankind—the reason we were created—is to reflect the One whose image we bear. Until that becomes the one thing we’re obsessed with, we will seek peace but never find it.

When Genesis begins, it describes creation as chaotic and wild, and therefore the Spirit of God is hovering above the creation. Once God brings order, he shifts from hovering above to resting within the creation and walking in it during the cool of the day with Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:8).

God will rest within a space only when Order has been sufficiently established. That is the shift we’re after. We want God to move from hovering above our chaos to resting within the ordered spaces of these flesh-and-blood temples we call our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:19).

If your life is full of chaos, know that God is hovering above you, gently speaking to you the same way He spoke to the creation in Genesis. As you seek Him, Order will begin to peek through the clouds of chaos, and you’ll recover your true identity. You’ll find rest in Him. And then He’ll rest in you.

Because here’s the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ: You can come home. Jesus says in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Jesus isn’t merely promising rest; He’s promising access to what we were created for.

I promise you that peace is waiting on the other side of your obedience.

God, I want to know Your Order, Your rest, Your peace. Amen.

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