Peace Surrounded by ChaosSample

Peace Surrounded by Chaos
by
Rocky Fleming

Day One – ACTION: Take Every Thought Captive

A few years ago my wife and I traveled to Israel. Our guide made a comment that Israel is an “Island of peace surrounded by a sea of chaos.” It truly is a peaceful place to experience, except for the typical skirmishes that are around the Palestinian border. Of course ISIS and most every Islamic predominated country around Israel wants to destroy them. But the fact is those nations have little peace even among themselves, and in some way they want to destroy each other. They live with chaos. Israel is a sanctuary of sorts, for they have made it their purpose to keep the chaotic influence of the region that surrounds them from entering their land. I loved being there, and as it has been the case throughout Bible history, we can learn a lot by observing Israel and God’s work in their history. For instance:

What about the chaos that surrounds us in a typical day of work or in the home? In a similar manner, God’s man or woman lives in a “sea of chaos,” and it is up to that man or woman to create a sanctuary in their soul that keeps the world’s influence from entering their “land.” We do this by several “soul protecting” border guards. The first defense requires that we protect our thoughts and anything that would cause us to join the world in its chaotic remedies for securing our life’s needs. This beginning battle in our hidden world of thoughts will prevent many failures that would have followed, and would have robbed us of the peace God wants to give us. It starts with our thoughts.