land of confusion?

I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

—Colossians 2:1-5

Have you ever looked out your window when riding on a plane and noticed the whole expanse of the earth? It is a totally different view at 25,000 ft. If you are like me, you are checking to make sure you aren’t losing altitude and they haven’t told you yet from the cockpit (but that’s another article about the fear of flying I will share with you later on). When you look, you see the way land is laid out in sections, and roads seem to connect everything together. That is on FLAT LAND! When you get to the mountains, it is a totally different thing. The connectivity of anything is lost and you almost lose track of where one peak starts and the other one ends. The flat land and all its organization is a stark contrast to the mountains and their unrecognizable crevices and valleys. One isn’t better than the other but they are definitely different.

The life we live is filled with times of connected flat lands where everything is easy to see and you don’t need much. Then there are those MOUNTAINS -- those unexpected things that push the limit and cause us to really have to focus on the road ahead and keep our eyes on our compass, Jesus Christ. When the land is level and flat and you can see really far ahead, we have a tendency to let down and almost coast. But when we are going through rough terrain that is really tough and treacherous, it causes us to make sure our feet are on the right path. We may not be able to see over the next hill, so the steps we take right here are very important.

Right now our country is in the midst of trying to take many different steps to fix problems that may not be caused altogether by what one administration did or didn’t do. It may be that we are paying for living in a state of confusion. Confusion caused when we turn to man’s best plans instead of God’s best plans. Confusion caused by looking to our own reasoning for answers instead of looking to God. Confusion like this comes in the mountain passes where we can’t see our way to the right place. All we have to do is look up, and see where the Son is and then our sense of direction will be corrected.

Where are you looking for the answers in those mountains? Are you looking to make everything okay yourself? Or are you looking up to get your bearings? I want to suggest that God is the only One who can make things right. Don’t listen to too many people with too many opinions. Listen to God and find your way to peace and direction.
There is an old song by the rock group Genesis that speaks to a Land of Confusion. The song makes a lot of true statements that apply to today. God is the only One who can answer the questions and see us out of this Land of Confusion…

I must’ve dreamed a thousand dreams, been haunted by a million screams. But I can hear the marching feet, they’re moving into the street. Now did you read the news today? They say the danger’s gone away. But I can see the fires still alight, they’re burning into the night. There’s too many men, too many people, making too many problems. And not much love to go ‘round. Can’t you see this is a land of confusion? This is the world we live in and these are the hands we’re given. Use them and let’s start trying to make it a place worth living in. Oh, superman where are you now? When everything’s gone wrong somehow. The men of steel, the men of power, are losing control by the hour. This is the time. This is the place. So we look for the future, but there’s not much love to go ‘round. Tell me why, this is a land of confusion. This is the world we live in, and these are the hands we’re given. Stand up and let’s start showing, just where our lives are going to.

Read Exodus 14 – God can use confusion sometimes to protect His people. Allow His protection to guard our hearts and our minds. God is a God of order for those He loves, and His justice is real and true. Trust His Word as your compass.

David Warren

Worship Pastor