Thankfulness #13: Chaos

Don't you just LOVE the spelling of the word "chaos"? It makes no sense! I distinctly remember the moment when I discovered the spelling of this word. My reaction? "Really??? You gotta be kidding!"

No kidding.

The word chaos originated from Greek and it originally meant abyss or "the bottomless gulf, pit, or chaos of the old cosmogonies" (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The abyss was feared. It was equated with ideas such as emptiness and void. It included terrifying creatures associated with the underworld. It even extended to the sea and encompassed sea monsters. The Greeks were so disturbed by the idea of chaos, that they didn't even allow the number zero to exist in their counting system. Zero was equated with nothingness, a concept to be shunned.

With the thought of the void in mind, take a moment to read Genesis 1:1-3 through fresh eyes:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and VOID, and darkness was over the surface of the DEEP, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was LIGHT. (emphasis added, NASB).

The writer of Genesis was extremely intentional when this passage was composed. The writer was addressing the various creation myths at the time.* The people who now inhabit what we call the "Middle East" believed that humans were created by accident. While the gods fought, dismembered parts sprouted up as humans. Genesis' author desired his readers to consider the truth: we are NOT created through chance or someone's mistake. We are an intentional product of God's magnificent imagination. And God IS in CONTROL over the void, the deep, the darkness, and the abyss. Creator God IS in CONTROL of CHAOS. HE is the author of LIGHT.

Thus, I am thankful for chaos. I am thankful for the times my life seems out of control. I am thankful when I experience a sense of void, a sense of purposelessness in my journey. I am thankful for those terrifying moments when fears ooze out from the depth of my soul, such as fear of losing my precious children. Why? Because it is during such times when I can SURRENDER to the GOD of LIGHT and let HIM make sense of the chaos and bring divine order into my life. Our Father God LONGS to create beauty out of nothing. Please let Him into your chaos today!

*Special thanks to my husband who illuminated me on Ancient Near Eastern mythology and its impact on the writing of Genesis 1.

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