When Your World Flies Apart, Jesus is the…
U – Upholder of All Things
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:15-17 ESV)
Some days, despite our best efforts, the world spirals out of control.
One day stands out in my memory as my Least Successful Day as a classroom teacher. I’d started my morning with prayer and a heavy dose of good intentions. Super-Teacher wannabe that I am, I’d planned my lessons carefully. I’d even arrived early that morning. (That feat alone required superpowers.) But as the day progressed, a storm began brewing as a barrage of interruptions blew the lesson off course.
As seventeen small children sat crisscrossed on colored squares on the rug, the usual distractions started:
“Will you tie my shoe?”
“Can I go to the bathroom?”
“I need a Band-Aid.”
“He’s in my space!”
During the math lesson, one of my little students started crying because I called on someone else to give the answer to a question.
But then the tornado came; one child began scribbling on his paper, kicking the table, and throwing crayons and chairs. I stopped to intercept the flying objects. The drone of children’s voices became a roar. Taking advantage of my preoccupation, children rolled on the carpet and ran around the room.
And it rained at recess time.
Despite my preparations, despite all the rules and routines I had in place, and despite my best efforts, I could not control the chaos. I felt powerless.
Standing in the whirlwind of flying crayons and crying children, I realized that I couldn’t hold it all together.
Like my little student, I wanted to give the right answer. I wanted to be that teacher who magically quieted the storm in my classroom. But though I pulled out every strategy in my bag of tricks, the storm raged on.
Maybe you’ve had a day like this. Maybe you’ve had many days when you desperately need someone to control the chaos.
Dealing with Life’s Storms
What kind of storms have you encountered lately?
- Literal storms, like hurricanes and natural disasters, that blow away your sense of security?
- Relationship storms, such as divorce or the death of a loved one—-tragedies that cause your world to come tumbling down like a stack of building blocks?
- Illness that threatens to wreck your health and steal away your very life?
- Financial storms flooding your mind with fears of dwindling resources and mounting debt?
- Everyday chaos that hits us like a barrage of bricks: accidents, broken appliances, interrupted schedules, difficult people, technology glitches…
When your world flies apart, there is Someone who can bring order to the chaos. Colossians says “He (Jesus) is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
Misconceptions about Jesus
We know Jesus as our Savior, but we sometimes forget he was also active in the creation of the universe, along with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.
And sometimes when we think of Jesus, we underestimate him. We’re tempted to be influenced by our culture, a culture in which inclusiveness is championed and so it is considered “exclusive” to say Jesus is the One, True, God. We sometimes encounter people who claim to believe in Jesus but downplay his deity. They say, “He was a good teacher. He was a prophet. He is one of many ways to God.”
But when we’re dealing with chaos, we need more than a benevolent moral teacher who sets a good example and shows us a better way to live. We need more than a prophet pronouncing platitudes. Though it’s wonderful to know Jesus understands how we feel, what we really need is someone who has the power to tame the tempests surrounding us. We need someone to keep us from falling apart.
The book of Colossians tells us Jesus is fully God and fully man. When Paul wrote the letter to the little country church in Colossae, he had to correct false doctrine seeping into the church. Paul was battling religious syncretism, the tendency to blend Christianity with elements of pagan religion.
While the false teachers claimed to believe in Jesus, they didn’t honor him as fully God and fully man. They didn’t glorify him as the preeminent, supreme God. They didn’t admit that everything true of God the Father is also true of the Son.
The One Who Brings Order to Chaos
Jesus existed before the world began.
He is the Creator who spoke the world into existence. By his power, all things hold together, from the puniest particles to the most gigantic galaxies. He is at work, and though the span of our lives is only a narrow slice of his blueprint for humanity’s future, he sees the big picture and has everything under control.
Without Jesus, everything, everything, would fly apart.
When we put our faith in Jesus, he gives us the courage to get up and face another day.
Time and again, God has fixed my messes and repaired my damaged life.
I didn’t always realize what he was doing, but often he would give me a tiny glimmer of insight into his work in my life. .
Remember the story of my Worst Day Teaching? The next day, the child who cried during the math lesson came to school and announced, “When I was crying, I put my head down and prayed. Jesus talked to me. He told me it was going to be OK. He told me he loves me.”
And that’s what God whispers to me, too. That’s what He whispers to all of us when we stand fragile and helpless in the midst of life’s storms. It’s going to be OK. He loves us.
What storms are brewing on your horizon? Are events in your life spiraling out of control? When your world flies apart, hold on tight to Jesus. Trust him to steady you, to strengthen you, and to work all things together for your good.
When your world flies apart, God is the upholder of all things.
Image courtesy of Brett Jordan on Unsplash.
