March Madness | Madness of Chaos | Trouble Breeds Trouble

Trouble pursues the sinner, but the righteous are rewarded with good things. Proverbs 13:21

Another Washington coverup. A new Hollywood scandal. A mega-church pastor caught in another affair. A drug lord arrested again. Our lives seem dominated by disastrous headlines. We’re both fascinated and repulsed by the chaotic lives of people who seem bent on self-destruction. And apparently, they won’t learn their lessons because we keep seeing their names linked with every form of evil. While we all mess up from time to time, why do some people return to wickedness and deception over and over again? Disaster seems to follow them. Why do they imagine that this time they will get away with it?

Without repentance, trouble breeds trouble. One lie leads to another until an entire life is a lie. One drink, one pill, one hit, one sexual sin is followed by another. And another. Sin’s appetite is never satisfied. It must have more and its voice becomes louder, more demanding. To cover up the adultery, we lie, to cover the lie, we drink, to cover the drinking, we get angry, to cover the anger, we divorce. Trouble pursues us, people are hurt, wounds created, and hearts hardened. But the opposite is also true. When we’ve chosen honor, integrity, wisdom, and obedience to God, His blessings follow us. We start reaping different results and those good outcomes are followed by another. And another. Chaos takes a backseat when God is driving.

Final Thought:  When we choose sin, trouble pursues us. When we choose God, He handles the chaos.
Prayer: Father, thank you that I am not alone in the midst of my chaos. Some of it, I created. But some I did not. You promise to walk with me through the chaos and bring good out of bad. Help me trust you in the middles of it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.