Clarity in Chaos

Many MANY years ago I participated in a “Warrior Dash,” a 5k obstacle-filled race on an Ohio ski slope. Having never run a 5k race, and feeling quite frisky, I decided to make a break to the front of the pack on the first downhill stretch. As most sane runners leaned back, shortened their strides, and maintained control, I leaned forward and made a break for the bottom of the surprisingly steep ski slope. 

Exuberance turned to panic forty yards down the slope. The race to the bottom became a terrifying run for survival. My arms pinwheeled as I careened past runners, hollering, “Out of control….OUT OF CONTROL!”  On that never-ending slope, one singular purpose crystallized: somehow fling my back foot in front of me before the ground showed up for another surprise meeting. That focus brought me safely to the bottom of the slope…exhausted, but alive!

It has felt to me that somehow this ski slope experience is a metaphor for the moment in history that we occupy. We have enthusiastically unleashed a wave of new technology into the human experience and are now beginning to realize a few of the terrifying consequences. Politics, complicated health care, and a shifting economy all can feel unsteady and…out of control. This is to say nothing of complicated family schedules and any number of other personal life challenges.

This Christmas season the essential nature of a singular focus on the King of Kings has rarely felt so critical. The prophet Isaiah wrote these words, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in You.” (Isaiah 26:3) In a world careening toward disaster, may we fix our eyes on the one who has promised that one day all will be made right and new, all will be well. 

We serve the King of heaven and earth!