You Can Sleep In The Boat, Too: Introduction

Miss a day? See the whole series here.

A 7 Day Study for believers who are exhausted by the chaos of this world and ready for something better.

Christy Jordan  ·  SeekingScripture.com

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

How This Study Began

I’ve always been able to connect with the Father better outside. There is something about being sandwiched between walls and roofs that hems my spirit in, steals my focus, and makes my problems seem to grow until they fill the room. And so, whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed, overly distracted, overstressed, or just over the world and all its chaos, the best thing I can do is close my laptop, put down my phone, and go outside for a walk.

On one of these recent days, my mind reeling with talks of wars, with half my friends outraged about one side of a coin and half outraged about the other, both of them confident that the Father was on their side alone, I laced up my shoes and headed out to spend time with the Father and hopefully make some sense of it all.

I’ve been studying spiritual warfare. Particularly, how the Bible tells us that there are not only wars taking place in our world, but the spiritual world as well and that our actions can affect both realms and vice versa (Ephesians 6:12). My studies had dipped heavily into physics, theology, and philosophy and the further I went the more it felt like one of those dreams where you discover a whole other house with each door you opened.

These were burning questions on my heart. I don’t want to be part of the chaos, I want to be part of the calm. I don’t want my life to inflict further injury, I want to bring healing.

As I began to walk, I mentally approached the throne, where my Father’s presence awaited. I asked Him to help me grow in understanding of all that was on my heart. Within just a few steps I heard the clarity of that still small voice in my spirit: Chaos is the wound. Shalom is the healer.

If Chaos is the wound, what is the weapon? Chaos is the weapon, but Shalom is the greater weapon.

Continuing to walk, I felt a rush of information as I went back and forth with the Father over this, as I talked it out, wrapped my head around it, and let understanding, to whatever extent He chose to impart, take root.

When I returned home, I sat down and wrote out seven premises of Chaos vs Shalom and then, I opened the Word to see if my premises proved true. What I found through that seeking grew into this study.

Definitions

Before we go further, I want to define what I mean when I use the word chaos in this study. I am not simply talking about noise, disorder, or the feeling of being overwhelmed, though chaos certainly produces all of those things. I am using chaos as a theological category.

What functions as chaos is not always considered out of order according to the world. A 24 hour news cycle of outrage and slander is entirely normal for us right now. But anything that stands in opposition to YHWH’s ideal and functions in a way that pulls you away from YHWH’s will for your life is chaos, because it distances you from Shalom.

Chaos rarely stays quiet. Left unchecked, what can begin as a small crack in our focus produces fruit we feel immediately. Anxiety. Stress. Overwhelm so heavy we can think of little else. Depression. Irritability. A restlessness that won’t let us sleep or, in many cases, enjoy our life. The chaos this study addresses is both the root and the fruit. We will name both, because you can’t heal a wound you haven’t identified, and you can’t identify a wound whose existence you haven’t been willing to acknowledge.

How is Chaos a Weapon?

As a weapon, chaos is used against the people of YHWH by dividing us, distracting us, keeping us in various states of emotional tumult, and wearing us down so that we forget where our strength comes from.

How is Chaos a Wound?

The result of chaos in our lives is easy to spot. That wound shows up as irritability, anxiety, stress, depression, inability to focus, overwhelm, hopelessness, just to name a few. This wound is tragically familiar to all of us.

A Note On Language

Throughout this study, I have chosen to capitalize Shalom. This is intentional. I am not using it as a general term for peace or a borrowed Hebrew word. I am using it to describe the eternal, active nature of YHWH Himself, the wholeness, healing, and governing peace that flows from who He is.

Shalom, as I am using it here, is not a feeling or a concept. It is an expression of His character. It deserves the capital letter. The exception is within direct scripture quotations, where I have preserved the original text without alteration.

When I Say “The World”

When I use the phrase “the world” I am not referring to the earth itself, to nature, or to the magnificence of YHWH’s creation. I am using it the way Scripture often does, to describe the systems that make up our day to day operations, the culture we are swimming in. The busyness of daily life that keeps us rushing from one thing to the next, the noise of our news cycles, electronic devices, and the influences that work in opposition to YHWH that are often successful in training us to live in opposition to YHWH in ways we don’t even notice. The things that have been set up by human hands and human ambition, apart from His design. The pressure, pace, and constant pull of a thousand voices telling us what to think, how to act, what to fear, and what to desire. That is the world this study is talking about.

That world, as loud and as relentless as it feels right now, is temporal. It’s already on its way out, and will be replaced by the eternal. This is why it is so important to learn how to live as a citizen of the eternal now, so that our lives can help show the way for others to do so as well.

The Seven Premises

These are the seven premises I wrote out on my walk.

1. 1
   Chaos is one of the chief weapons of the adversary against the people of God.

   Chaos is not merely a feeling or a circumstance. It has dual functions, serving as both the weapon and the wound by how it affects our life.

   1 Peter 5:8 · John 10:10 · Ephesians 6:12

2. 2
   Shalom is the greater weapon.

   Where chaos wounds, Shalom heals. Where chaos divides, Shalom restores. Shalom is not simply the absence of chaos. It is the active, eternal power of YHWH working against it.

   John 14:27 · Philippians 4:7 · Ephesians 2:14

3. 3
   Chaos has no eternal future.

   Chaos is entirely temporal, which means it is already losing. This is why even simple rest defeats it and why we so often feel the weight lift after a night of sleep. Each morning is a fresh start. Chaos was reset to zero while we rested.

   Genesis 2:2-3 · Isaiah 57:21 · Psalm 30:5

4. 4
   Shalom is eternal. It does not weaken or run out.

   It can’t be destroyed because it is rooted in the very nature of YHWH Himself. It is only ever forgotten or set aside by us.

   Isaiah 26:3 · Numbers 6:24-26 · John 16:33

5. 5
   Chaos cannot govern itself.

   Chaos is feral and without order, everywhere at once and in control of nothing. But the moment it’s brought into the light of YHWH and observed clearly, it loses its power. It was never as large as it appeared. Its only real strength is distraction.

   1 Corinthians 14:33 · John 1:5 · Ephesians 5:13

6. 6
   Not of the Father.

   Everything outside the Father operates under the adversary’s influence. Scripture names it plainly: the domain of darkness, the present evil age, the power of the air. All of it pulls us from YHWH, from Shalom, from who we are. It needs our attention to survive. The moment we regain our proper focus, it loses its grip.

   Colossians 1:13 · Galatians 1:4 · Ephesians 2:2

7. 7
   To be in Shalom is to be rooted in the eternal, drawing from a source that can’t run dry.

   To be in chaos is to be caught in something temporary that is already passing away. The adversary is bold because this is his only window. He has no eternity to work with, no long game to play. He cannot build, restore, or create anything of lasting value. He can only disrupt what YHWH has made, and his time for even that is running out.

   Romans 8:18 · Revelation 12:12 · 1 John 2:17