Finding Spiritual Peace In Chaos – A Culture Adrift

It’s been a long time, if ever since we have seen the American culture going through so many changes. We are seeing incredible criticism of our leaders. The morals and norms that have been accepted for generations are being challenged and it seems that only a segment of the population is held accountable for their divisive actions. So how can we find spiritual peace in chaos? In our opinion, it is only found through a relationship with Jesus Christ and the inner activity of the Holy Spirit within us.

How Can We Find Our Own Peace in the Chaos of Our Culture

A famous pamphlet series was written by philosopher and author, Thomas Paine, during the American Revolution. I certainly wouldn’t take my spiritual cues from Thomas Paine, but I will borrow the introductory words of his “American Crisis” writings.

“These are the times that try men’s souls.” Thomas Paine

I’m not going to make a bunch of parallels between now and the American Revolution, but still, these are definitely times that seem to be trying our souls.

I’m not writing coming at this with a bevy of stats and figures that are readily available on the internet. I did a bit of that in a previous post on spiritual blindness. However, I will try to use some biblical analysis and common sense.

Finding Spiritual Peace In Chaos – What?

So, we have a desire to stay calm in difficult situations and the heightened emotions that accompany them. We also want to remain calm amid the uncertainty of vastly and quickly changing cultural values and foundational moral principles on which many in our country were raised.

Whether you find yourself on the left, right, or center – if you have any cultural awareness at all you must be aware that people are trying to navigate the constantly changing ocean of chaos we are facing. We all could use some peace from the discord.

“And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.” Colossians 3:15

Stressed? You Aren’t Alone!

If you feel like you’re about 5 miles high in a 747 in which system after system of the aircraft is quickly malfunctioning, you aren’t alone. Roughly three-quarters of Americans think we are simply on the wrong track. We could go on a political diatribe at this point, but that seldom helps.

Definition of Terms

We find ourselves in a culture where words and terms are being redefined in order to stay within the boundaries of the values of various groups and segments of the population.

Our citizens are being told that simple words and phrases that have great meaning to them no longer mean what they did five minutes ago.

Lack of Trust In Leadership

If we could ask for a formula for chaos, it would surely include government leaders in which people have lost trust. Some of life’s most stressful situations can occur when you don’t have confidence or faith in those leading you.

We want to look to our leaders to help bring clarity and peace amidst the chaos. We need them to exercise wisdom in their words and deeds that will help de-stress the experience of everyday life, not compound it.

We all have our cultural, moral, and political leanings. I certainly do. However, the lack of trust in leadership, unfortunately, affects an incredible percentage of Americans. But, the particular segment of Americans that have a large amount of mistrust in their leaders can change from one election cycle to another.

There is always a huge portion of the population who won’t or can’t trust their leaders. Right or wrong, this affects our emotions and prompts fear and sometimes anger in a person’s life.

Differing Worldviews

Way back in the 1960s (when dinosaurs roamed…), Gallop told us that the percentage of our fellow citizens who believed in God was way up in the high 90s, as high as 98% in some polls.

Certainly, that didn’t mean that everyone was dedicated to God, or were believers in Christianity. However, there was a simple, but fundamental, acknowledgment that we answered to a higher power greater than man.

Depending on the pollster, that number now can be down in the low 80s. At first glance, a believer in God may feel better that the percentage may still be that high.

However, when you examine further, it appears that only about half of that 80% believe in a God who will actively listen to your prayers and be active in your life.

This is for another writing at another time, but suffice it to say this:

Biblical and secular worldviews will consistently be at odds with each other. This can bring feelings of anxiety, rob us of joy and peace, and cause divisiveness in close relationships.

The Great Divide

The first instinct of many people will be to say. “Why can’t we just get along?” That would seem to be the way to reduce the stress and chaos. And, it’s a very well-intentioned sentiment.

However, even if you look back on the last part of the 20th century, there were certainly challenging times, strong disagreements, and polarizing opinions in our culture.

But now – the division in what various groups of Americans believe is so extremely wide in many cases. The foundational truths upon which Americans build their lives can be in stark contrast to their neighbor who may live literally within a few feet of them.

As late as the last part of the 20th century and the first part of this one there was a substantial range of cultural or governmental issues on which we could agree and find common ground. However, in so many of the issues that consume our country now, that is no longer the case.

Now we’re discovering so much distance between the fundamental viewpoints of various groups of people. More than ever it seems it has become increasingly difficult to find unifying topics or moments of unity about truth in which we can agree.

We want peace in our culture and in our own lives. However, if we only depend upon our opinions or emotions, then we may find there are times when we had rather seek to give a piece of our minds to one another rather than seek peace with each other. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t speak against wrong or injustice, but we should do so in a manner that is consistent as a child of a loving God.

A Flood of Information

No one has to tell us that the human race has never been so bombarded and constantly interrupted with information about events in our world. In an instant, we are made aware of things happening in our world and the difficult situations at hand.

This brings increasing feelings of uncertainty and takes our focus away from the actual methods of finding peace in a personal way.

The internet and social media have been a blessing and a curse. Personally, sometimes I think the internet has been a blessing, but I’m really doubtful if the positive aspects of social media can tip the scales enough to say it’s been a net benefit for the world.

Untrustworthy Information

In all that we watch and hear, there seems to be no source of information in which we can truly trust. Sure, some outlets of the media may be more accurate than others. But, it seems there is no longer any accountability factor for those organizations tasked with reporting the truth about what’s happening in our country and our world.

Certainly, we want to stand strong on our right to free speech, but when outlets (and national leaders) are caught in lies time and time again, the pendulum eventually swings to the place where we believe little of what we hear from those sources.

The majority of Americans do not trust what has become to be referred to as the “mainstream media.” There is a massive failure by media outlets of various stripes to objectively report information to us. So, this forces the population to gravitate to alternate news sources.

That can either be very good or very bad. Now it’s very easy to find a news source that will only report within a narrative that each of us would like to hear. Although we can be thankful for additional sources of information, this does open up the door for extreme positions on either end of the spectrum.

Anyway, if you want to place a substantial amount of blame for our chaotic situation on tremendously irresponsible news media, I will get on that bandwagon with you.

So, Finding Spiritual Peace in Chaos?

First and foremost, no matter how unpopular the notion, or what the world might say this whole website would be quite a sham if we didn’t state this.

You can’t find inner peace of hope in everyday life with a worldview that excludes the creator God.

To be more specific, I view this God to be One of the Bible who actually came to earth in human form and lived a perfect life. He was executed, died, and miraculously rose from the dead as was testified by a massive number of people in the first century.

So, that’s our baseline for these steps to finding peace in this mess. Let’s look at how we can handle the chaotic situation in which we find ourselves.

1. Realize That There Is a God Who Wants To Be Involved In Your Life

When I use the word realize, it’s precisely what I mean. Take it in as reality. The story of Jesus Christ is not just a fable of the “Christian Right.” Any diligent study can produce the fact that it’s so much more than that.

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” John 14:1-3

There is no other God than the God of the Bible in whom to put your trust. Find peace and hope that Someone is in control, will set all things right, and bring eternal joy and happiness to those who trust in Him.

2. Realize That Inner Peace Will Only Come From The Proper Focus

It’s really easy to focus on the hope of a more wholesome, less politically driven education system, new laws, or new leaders to help change things for the better.

Well, that would be great, but we can’t count on that. We must focus on this culture using the lens of the Spirit. All of the silliness going on is far more than man-made. It is spiritual at the core and that is the frame of reference through which we must see it.

Any other system or metric of evaluating what’s happening in this world will fall short of allowing us the true perspective of faith in a God who is our only hope for peace in our hearts.

With great intent, we must set our minds on that fact, on His word, and the truth that is found in the pages of scripture.

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27

3. Realize That Our Need to Seek the Wisdom of God Is Great

One of our problems in the world is that there are plenty of people who have a large amount of knowledge. It can be great knowledge or corrupt knowledge.

Knowledge of the truth is very important. But, our culture (beginning with us personally) is thirsting for – is starving for something. That “something” is wisdom.

In faith, we need to hit our knees in prayer – confident that the wisdom of God is what we need to bring peace to the chaos. We need to dive into His word asking God to give us wisdom in our personal lives and ask Him to work in others as well.

We can stand by and let the foolishness of the culture cause us stress and anger, or we can believe what the Apostle, Paul said-

“the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God.” 1 Corinthians 3:19a

This culture we’re in is upside down and without the wisdom of an all-knowing God to help us navigate our personal lives, there will be little peace or happiness.

4. Realize That We Must Find Balance In Our Life

Ooooh, balance in life- that’s really original… But, nonetheless, it’s incredibly important as we live our lives, raise our families, and try to love each other.

We must focus on God, our family, our churches, and people who are in need. The old saying was to “keep the main thing the main thing.” Focus on a life that revolves around a strong belief in the biblical narrative and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Don’t let the cultural battles distract you from that.

But – the word balance is important to us. Focusing on life in Christ should include being responsible to stand up for what you believe.

I believe that a balanced life representing Christ in our times includes being educated about issues of our culture, our government, and those who are leading or wish to lead our country.

God has gifted Americans with an incredible privilege. It’s called voting. Yet, millions and millions of people vote for candidates for office based on popularity, their personality, or what they hear in a political advertisement. Unfortunately, millions do so without ever doing a modicum of investigation or research about what the candidates actually stand for or believe in.

Christians should be the most informed people on the planet when it comes to this issue.

People are being hurt by corruption in our government – and it can happen under the umbrella of any political party. We only want to think of Jesus as the mild-mannered loving person that He was.

However, when people who were supposed to be leaders took advantage of and hurt people, Jesus was righteously angry at those people and sometimes took surprising action.

We are reminded that not one, not two, but all four of the Gospels tell the story of Jesus going off on the moneychangers at the temple who were taking advantage of innocent people.

So, focus on Christ and your family, church, and advancing the cause of Christ and a biblical worldview. However, to do so includes standing up for injustice. For the moment we still have some avenues and rights to do that in America, so let’s look for opportunities to do so.

Conclusion

Let’s do what we can to be influenced by the word of God rather than what a cultural left or right perspective tells us. But, let’s keep our focus on the God of the Bible.

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Colossians 3:2

We must do so, realizing that peace in the midst of confusion, sadness, or the suffering of life will only come as we walk in a personal relationship with the God of the universe.