I’m So Confused!!!

For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.

1 Corinthians 14:33 (Revised Standard Version)

Would you believe this picture is actually of tree branches against a blue sky?  With a few clicks and some photo editing software, I was able to make it unrecognizable.  Even now that you know what it is supposed to be, you can’t clearly see the branches because of the amount of distortion.

We experience this type of distortion or confusion in our own lives, and I wanted to talk a little bit this week about two sides to confusion, based on my personal experience.  There are times in life where we get thrown for a loop…when something comes completely out of left field, catches us off guard and causes us to feel a bit disoriented.  Ever experience that place where you are trying with all the brain power you have to make sense of something, or to hear God clearly so you know what you are supposed to do?  But no matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to hear His voice through all the questions and confusion in your head?  I’ve been there.  That’s where this verse comes in.  God tells us He is not a God of confusion.  The word “confusion” used here could also mean disorder or instability.  While this portion of Corinthians is specifically addressing confusion or disorder in the setting of a worship service, it applies to us in other contexts (after all, God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.  So if He is not a God of confusion in worship, He is not a God of confusion elsewhere either).  There are times when the enemy will attempt to “scramble the signal”, if you will, to cause confusion so that we miss God.  Essentially, he’s trying to trip us up.  There are also times where we are getting in our own way by over-analyzing or over-thinking, which leads to confusion as well.  Speaking from my own experience, I encourage you to stand on this verse if you are experiencing confusion in your situation.  Declare that God is not a God of confusion, and thank Him for equipping you with the ability to hear Him clearly.  Stand on your faith!

Now the other side of this confusion thing that is interesting to me is that there are multiple examples in scripture where He will cause confusion to our enemies, as a way of acting on our behalf (Exodus 23:27, Deuteronomy 7:23, Joshua 10:10).  So when we are in the midst of a spiritual battle or are being persecuted or attacked in some way, we know that God can create confusion in our enemy’s arena so that we can have the victory (remembering that we battle against powers and principalities and not flesh and blood as noted in Ephesians 6:12).  I propose this whole thing is about relationship.  God is in a covenant relationship with us, so He will not create confusion when it comes to us hearing His voice and direction.  However, it is also because of that covenant that he can create confusion for our enemies so that we can win whatever battle we are fighting.  We can ask God to give us clarity in hearing His voice AND we can ask Him to cause confusion in our enemy’s camp.  The Lord is our passionate loving Father and our powerful warrior at the same time.

Be encouraged today!  The Lord is for us and not against us!