The Struggle to Maintain Order

Order
Discipline
Peace
Quiet
Beauty
Focus

Chris Barbalis


Strive seems the opposite of the above words, but one must strive so as to obtain order.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

~ Genesis 1:28 (NIV)

Keeping order in our realm is a command from God.

By the sweat of your brow

you will eat your food

until you return to the ground,

~ Genesis 3:19a (NIV)

Having difficulty keeping order is a result of Adam's fall.

Take heart, dear soul. When God gives a command, He makes a way for its fulfillment.

With righteousness, He knew we could never live up to it. He waited until we figured that out, and then provided His precious Son, Jesus, to earn it for us.

With orderliness, He gave us muscles and sweat and desire. But, He left us to take the initiative. His gift is rain, sunlight, and wind to help things grow strong.

Kyle Szegedi

Still, the struggle is ours, and ours alone.

Sure, we can pay someone to do the work for us. But we still have to do some kind of work to get the pay, and someone still has to sweat and toil.

And so I struggle to maintain order, struggle to develop and keep good habits, struggle to take dominion over my realm - my body, my home, my work. And I ask my Lord for help.

If you are with me in this struggle, I will pray for help for you, too. Let's support each other, encourage each other to keep up the fight and not give up.

If you have read this far, will you join me in making a goal? My first goal in an orderly home is my bedroom. My first mini-goal is to organize my dresser. The reason I decided to start here is this is the first thing I see in the morning, the thing that can set the tone for the entire day. I don't know about you, but I want to set myself up for a good day.

Kyle Szegedi