These are certainly chaotic times in the world.   And yet amidst the daily reports of crisis around the globe we can take comfort in God’s sovereignty, recognizing:

1. the origin of sin, as seen in the 4 Broken Relationships of Genesis 3: God, self, others, creation;
2. the hope of Scripture’ story which assures us that Christ is the creator and heir of all things, and he will eventually reconcile all things to himself. (Col. 1:19-20; Heb. 1:1-2)

Two great quotes that should be of comfort to all followers of Christ:

The first from Vaughn Robert’s God’s Bible Picture: Tracing the Story line of the Bible

“The Kingdom of God is what we see at the creation in the Garden of Eden until the fall. But then human beings disobey God and forgo his blessing. The consequences are devastating not just for humanity but for the whole creation; everything is spoiled. But in his great love God promises to put things right again and re-establish his kingdom on earth. The rest of the Bible tells the story of the fulfillment of that promise: partially in Israel’s history in the Old Testament period, and then perfectly through Jesus Christ. So the Bible is about God’s plan of salvation: his promise to restore his kingdom, and then the fulfillment of that promise through his Son Jesus.”

The second from F.B. Meyer’s Paul: A Servant of Jesus

“Each great crisis in the past has helped to advance the glorious reign of Christ. Was the fall of Babylon a crisis? It gave mankind a universal speech–the language spoken by Alexander and his soldiers–the delicate, subtle Greek in which the New Testament was written. Was the fall of Rome a crisis? It opened the way to the rise of the northern nations, which have ever been the home of Liberty and the Gospel. Was the fall of Feudalism, in the French Revolution, a crisis? It made the splendid achievements of the nineteenth century possible. And we may look without dismay on events that cast a shadow on our hearts. They also shall serve the cause of the Gospel. In ways we cannot tell, they shall prepare for the triumph of our King. Through the throes of the present travail the new heavens and earth shall be born. The agony is not as the expiring groan of the dying gladiator, but as the sigh of the mother bringing forth her first-born. These things, said our Lord, must needs be; and they are the beginning of travail (Matthew 24: 8, R.V.). And amid all Jesus rides in triumph to his destined glory and the crown of all the earth.”