ORDERED

“Although my house is not so with God, yet He has made with me an everlasting covenant, ORDERED in all things and secure...” – 2 Samuel 23:5a

The ORDERED Life of individuals is the basis for Order in marriages, homes, churches, communities, organizations, armies, society, governments, and in the entire universe! Without order in personal lives, order at any other collective level is a mirage. God, the Creator of all things and the Originator of creative Order desires that we human beings – the Crown of His creation – allow His Order in all aspects our lives and enforce the same in all spheres of existence. That’s why He instituted marriage, home, family, and governments. The Church, in particular, should be the epitome of Order: “Let all things be done decently and in ORDER” (1Cor.14:40). Genesis 1: 1-3 shows how God restored Order to the formlessness, voidness, darkness, and disorder on earth: “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep…”

In the rest of the creation story we see how God brought Order out of the chaos. He wants to do likewise in our lives and destinies. We’ll therefore turn our attention and meditation in the coming days, to the need for Ordered Lives. Scriptures affirm God’s Will to have us lead ordered lives: “The steps of a good man are ORDERED by the LORD, and He delights in his way” (Psa.37:23).. Isaiah 9:7a says “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to ORDER it and establish it....” David prayed: “Order my steps in Your Word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me” (Psa. 119:133). In our meditative text, he described the everlasting covenant God made with him as being “ordered in all things and secure.” What then does it mean for one's steps to be ordered?

To “Order” means “to direct, set straight, keep steady, make firm or to firmly establish.” It means to keep from hesitating, wandering, vacillating, fainting, falling or backsliding. David, looking out upon nature, saw divine order everywhere, in the firmament above, on the earth beneath, among the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea; he desired therefore to fall into rank, and fit into the harmony of the universe. Disorder was on display only in human affairs and the objects in creation that man’s fallen nature had influenced. David also knew that his feet were often ready to slide, that he was weak in himself, that his heart was feeble, changing and unstable; and that the future does not belong to the strength of man, but the grace of the Holy Spirit alone. He was saying in effect, “Keep me steady in my entire walk in life. Let Your Holy Spirit overshadow me. Let Him conquer my heart, my mind, and my entire being; let Him subdue my affection, desires, drives, and passions.”

Your steps can and must be ordered by the Word of God. In this tempting world, you cannot go out in your own strength and be a “Solid Christian” or a strong believer. These are possible only in the Strength of God’s Spirit. Such a notion contradicts the spirit of the age, which says that everything revolves around man and man’s strength – it’s all man-centred! To such warped minds, Man is the measure of all things! Whereas, David humbly pondered: “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” (Psa.8:4). That’s why he prayed for Order in his life, and God ensured that this was so, including surrounding him with mighty men, whose lives and exploits were similarly ordered by the Lord. This was opposite to the rebellious spirit of Pharaoh who said: “Who is the Lord that, I should obey His voice to let Israel go?” (Exo.5:2a). The man-centred spirit says, “I want to be my own Master” as echoed in Jeremiah 2:31b: “…Why do My people say, ‘We are lords; we will come no more to You’?”

The Ordered Life is a life that is in harmony with God, His Word, Will, Ways, Wisdom, and the rest of His creative order. The Ordered Life is: Christ-centred, consecrated, complete, founded, grounded, rooted, focused, balanced, detailed, disciplined, disentangled, sheltered, insulated, organised, wholesome, and decent. These shall be your portions in life, in Jesus name.