Soul Chaos!

April 22, 2021

Soul Chaos!

I don’t buy into the idea that once you experience the love of God, everything in life will be smooth sailing.  My experience is there are moments and even seasons in which our soul finds itself in a kind of chaotic upheaval.

For those who believe everything goes well when we love Jesus, the season of upheaval is even more confusing and unsettling.  There is little or no peace and certainly no joy in our soul.  When asked, “How is it with your soul?” we know that all is not well in our core. 

Most of us are slow to admit the deeply disturbed and disordered state of our soul.  We may be in the midst of a calamity bordering on catastrophe but don’t know with whom to share our soul chaos.  If we do know with whom we can share, we often hesitate to do so.

We can find ourselves in a spiritual place that is so raw and visceral that we don’t even know where to begin to describe the state of our soul.  All we know is that happiness and hope and harmony are much less than the hurts and hang-ups deep in our soul. 

There is something almost universal about the experience of soul chaos.  In Psalm 42:5 (NRSV) we hear the cry of the soul; “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me?” 

In another translation (NIV) we hear; “Why, my soul, are you downcast?  Why so disturbed within me?”  The Psalmist would not have included these kinds of prayers if soul chaos was not at least an occasional part of the spiritual life. 

Soul chaos is manifest in many ways.  There may be…

Desperate tears…

Panicked cries… 

Frustrated prayers…

Perplexed thinking…

Anxious worries…

Gloomy outlook…

Unresolved confusion…

Dejected perspective…

Soul chaos is not something we would ever choose.  The chaos is a place of randomness where I feel that I am distant from the Lord God.  That distance often leaves me absent of any hope or help or healing. 

I ask and ask and ask Jesus to show up in my soul chaos, but there is just silence.  My soul is not well.  There is chaotic upheaval, deep unsettledness, and pervading confusion.  Like the Psalmist, we can feel cast down at a soul-deep level.

The good news is the Lord knows what is going on in our soul.  Although Jesus can change things in a brief moment, He often waits to see if we will ask Him and trust Him and lean on Him for guidance. 

The Psalmist knows of only one path out of soul-chaos; to place our hope in the Lord!  In Psalm 42:5-6 he finally admits; “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.” 

There seems to be just two options when we are in a state of soul chaos.  First, we can conclude that based on what has happened in the past there is no answer, no hope, and no purpose.  Second, we can conclude there is a future with someone bigger than me, someone who knows me, someone who accepts me…someone who is Jesus.

When we are experiencing soul chaos, we can choose to turn our eyes away from whatever is causing the confusion and unsettledness in our soul.  We can look to Jesus as our help and our deliverer.  In Jesus, I discover the hope and help and healing I need most. 

When I turn my eyes to Jesus, my heart begins to praise Jesus, thank Jesus, and give glory to Jesus.  The more praise I offer to Jesus, the more hope is restored in my soul.  When that happens, my soul is filled with delight in the Lord.

Take delight in the Lord!

Doug