Confused

Confusion. Uncertainty. Unsureness. It's disturbing. It's frustrating. It produces instability and insecurity.

Lately, I've felt confused. It angers me that there are so many weird messages, even in the church. I haven't questioned God's goodness, faithfulness, willingness, and ability to guide me to the Truth. It simply disturbs me that teachers, which are communicating God's Word (the Truth), could be intentionally or unintentionally misleading people (the Deception).

I have been wrestling with the balance between trusting others (or myself) to communicate the truth and at the same time knowing when I (or others) have found it. Allow me to be honest!

I used to lead a Bible study about five years ago. Three or four of us would meet and discuss different topics and verses in order to keep growing. One time I brought up a short, two line scripture (Proverbs 29:5 - "Whoever flatters his neighbor is spreading a net for his feet") and I demonstrated how we should flatter our neighbors to spread a net for their feet. This way, whenever they go through a difficult situation in life they will be safe when they fall since we spoke encouraging words to them. As I was studying later in life, I discovered that flattering is not encouragement but instead lavish insincere praise to further one's own interests. Great. Strike one. Then, I discovered that "nets," in the day that this scripture was written in, were used to capture animals. Great. Strike two. So, after praying that God would not take my strikes and do his own strike (by taking me down with lightning), I learned a valuable lesson. The truth is alive and it is absolute, but you must search for it.

So in light of my confusion, and yours too, what does God say about this. Well, God seems to be very direct about it. "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints" (1 Corinthians 14:33). In other words, confusion does not come from God. What comes from God? Peace, harmony, unity, strength, and joy (along with many others) all flow from a relationship with the Father. In this passage of scripture, the topic is about order in our church meetings. Our motivation when we meet should be to edify one another. That's a weird word...edification. What does it mean? It simply means "the act of building or building up." We should be focused on building others up. Throughout the passage, God provides principles for order, because He is not the author of confusion or chaos. This leads up to the last scripture regarding our church meetings which says, "Let all things be done decently and in order" (1 Corinthians 14:40).

This is great information to be applied to our church meetings, but think about this also: there is another connection to be drawn. If God is the author of peace (not confusion) in our church meetings, is He the author of confusion in your mind? Or, is He the author of confusion in your search for the Truth? No. God is all about order and peace. I know, it's difficult for me too. Lets rely on His strength, to participate in His peace, and be guided into His Truth, in order to better serve Him.