Finding Peace in the Chaos

Amid the chaos of uncertainty, we can find peace by trusting in God’s assurance, protecting our hearts and minds from anxiety.

Uncertainty leads to anxiety. Neither is good. Yet, we can live through uncertainty without experiencing anxiety. The first weeks of the Trump administration have sent shockwaves throughout the world. America’s citizens and allies are unclear as to what to expect. We are living through a firehose of activities that feel more like psychological waterboarding that prevents us from catching our breath. I recently shared with a congregation that our cable news stations run the caption “breaking news” so often that there is more breaking news than regular news.

Fostering Fear

The obvious reaction to this blitzkrieg-like pace of activity designed to overwhelm the political system and our psyches is fear. With bated breath, people are waiting for the next shoe to drop. Whether the system overload is well thought out or not, it is being perfectly executed, resulting in people feeling helpless and some even beginning to feel hopeless. 

These actions have real consequences. Layoffs, funding freezes, and threats of annexations are affecting people's lives. It’s reached the point of psychological warfare. But we can’t allow our minds to be conquered by the fear of the unknown. We must take back control of our thinking so we can purposefully navigate our lives. Thus, we cannot react to every shiny object but, with prayerful consideration, respond to the larger field of play.

With this understanding, the apostle Paul writes to the church in Philippi: “Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7).

Fostering Fortitude

Paul provides us with three critical responses to the vicissitudes of life: two from us and one from God.

1. Avoid being anxious. Anxiety is apprehension about some existential concerns. It is a response triggered by someone and/or something that seeks to disrupt the equilibrium of our hearts. It robs us of our joy, which Paul tells us to recover twice in a prior verse: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice!” (v. 4).

I surmise that verse 4 is the key to understanding verse 6. When God is the sphere of our joy, He occupies the spaces in our minds and emotions that prevent anxiety-causing experiences from taking residence. Therefore, we need not be fearful when God makes us joyful.

2. Ask God for assistance. Paul further instructs us to pray to the Lord in every situation. Instead of taking to X or Facebook or TikTok, we are to take our concern to the Lord in prayer. Prayer is our spiritual communication with God. He is our heavenly Father who invites us to come to Him and share the apprehensions and worries that seek to take root in our souls. We don’t react, we respond to the One we know has the power to work an unfavorable situation together for our good.

Notice, if you will, that when we appeal to God, we are to do so with an attitude of gratitude. Thanksgiving expresses our faith and confidence that God will hear our prayer and respond to our petition favorably. It communicates our appreciation that we have the privilege of access to His heavenly throne by justification through Jesus Christ. It also conveys our refusal to allow our transient circumstances to control our emotional well-being.

3. Assurance will come from the Almighty. When we avoid worry and ask God for intervention, God will respond by protecting us with His peace. Having sent our prayers up, God sends His peace down. His peace is a tranquility that stands guard around our hearts and minds. The situation on the outside may not change, but God’s peace protects us on the inside so that we don’t change either. It becomes a showdown between our problems and God’s peace; if we let it, His peace will always win.

To the average person, this outcome doesn’t make sense. How can we have peace amid chaos? It’s beyond human understanding. It is the peace of God, which means it doesn’t originate with us; it originates with Him. He gives it to sustain us while those around us become overwhelmed because they are not in a relationship with Him.

Fostering Faith

We live in heavily chaotic times. From one moment to the next, we have no inclination of what news may break across our feed that is designed to instill fear. While it is true that we should be concerned about what we are hearing, seeing, and living, we must not forget Who we belong to. God is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is our Shepherd and Banner. Instead of succumbing to Satan’s attempt to weaponize our souls against us, we will trust in the Lord!

Dr. Isaac Hayes is an Assistant Pastor at the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago, Illinois, and author of Men After God’s Heart: 10 Principles of Brotherly Love. He also has a Doctor of Ministry degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Follow Dr. Hayes on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube at @RevIsaacHayes.