Among the Chaos

I was reading Genesis chapter 1 the other day and something jumped out at me which never had before.

In verse 2 it says “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

Why this jumped out at me is because it reminds us, even in the beginning, the Spirit of God was there. Before God created order in the world, there was the opposite of order – chaos. And the Spirit was already there.

Jump ahead to John 14:16 & 17a where Jesus says “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever – the Spirit of Truth.” Jesus promises us the Spirit to come be with us.

2020 began a pretty tough time in my life. Finished a diploma in January, found out I had cancer in February, the world went into COVID 19 lockdown in March, we had a baby in June, found out my Cancer was back in July, major surgery in August, began treatment in October, hospitalized end of November throughout much of December, and then in February I was told I was in remission. 2 weeks later my dad was diagnosed with ALS, and we watched this ugly disease take him from us in just 6 months.

Our world was quite chaotic indeed. And yet we know, the Spirit was there, in the Chaos. Just as He was in the beginning of time, He was there through our Chaos. Even though life was (is) hard, He is still with us in the chaos. And just like the beginning of time, where God makes order out the chaos, He will again make order out the chaos of our lives.

It may look different than we can imagine of want. Like me, He can give me the strength to fight through cancer with the support of Him, my family, and countless others around the globe and heal me of my cancer. Or, like my dad, he can take him home where his body is no longer broken. Where he can talk again, sing again, laugh again, and walk again. You may get order in one area of live (remission) only to be thrown into more chaos (dad’s diagnosis)…but He is still there.

Even though we may not like or understand it “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) It may not look the way we want, but we know, throughout out struggles, God will ultimately be glorified through it.

How can I believe this? Well, God promises to send us the Spirit and He delivered on that promise. He promised to send a Saviour to the world, He delivered on that one too. He promised Abraham would have countless descendants, He promised Jesus would come from David’s line, He promised He would defeat death…check, check, and check. So when he promises He will never leave us and He promises to send the Spirit and when He promises He will work ALL things for His good, I can believe those promises to.

I believe He is continuing to make order out of the chaos of my life. I have seen it. I have felt it. Just as we know the Spirit was there in the beginning of time, I know the Spirit is here with us today…amidst the chaos.