DAYS OF TURMOIL AND PEOPLE OF ‘TURN’-MOIL by Peet vander Westhuizen
It is in the turmoil of chaos that we discover what, if anything, we are. -Orson Scott
The turmoil of life offers substance for a revolution. Ungodly people turn to their own ways. Godly people turn to God’s ways.
You are well familiar with the people of God who lost their way in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, who were the kings of Judah.
God raised His prophet Isaiah when turmoil and unrest culturized the chosen nation of God. Their condition was one of sinfulness, iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters, they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger. They are gone backward.
Does any of these words narrate to you any similarities to our day in this current age?
History keeps on repeating itself unless a perpetual generation uses history to transform from turmoil into a turning moil.
Let’s deal with a few terminologies first:
Turmoil is a state of confusion, disorder, uncertainty, or great anxiety. I tend to lean over to the thoughts of Orson F. Whitney who said the following: “ What has history said of eminence without honour, wealth without wisdom, power and possessions without principle? The answer is reiterated in the overthrow of the mightiest empires of ancient times. Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome! The four successive, universal powers of the past. What and where are they?”
The country and world is in a current state of political turmoil. It’s one thing that the world has lost its way but for the Body of Christ to promote, support, strengthen these ways are the more detrimental factor to the Babylonian confusion of our time.
Like in the days of 600BC the people of God had conflicting needs, beliefs, actions and expectations that caused internal turmoil. Internal turmoil needs to be dealt with in faith. It is not just any faith but the faith of the righteous that will prevail. The faith of right acting and thinking aligns the unrest of the soul to the completed work of Christ. It takes a labor or moiling to enter into that rest. The rest of God is the turning point of any soulish unrest. The revealing of the sons of God speaks to me as the restorers of the peace. The second principle in the order of the Kingdom cannot exist without the first. The first principle is righteousness that will have to be entered into. Therefore the sons should seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness so that all the other things will be reconciled. As peacemakers we are not in silent agreement to Babylonian influences and manipulation. It is for the people of God to return unto Him, the author and finisher of our faith.
Ironically, gratitude’s most powerful mysteries are often revealed when we are struggling in the midst of personal turmoil.
We can manage turmoil by the way that we turn the moil.
“Unless the Lord builds the house, those that build it labor in vain….” Ps127:1
When we labor at anything less than what the Lord builds, our efforts are in vain. Definitions of moil as a verb is to work hard. Synonyms of moil is also to dig, grind, labor, toil, travail and to do some specific work. To be a participant in the turmoil of this world will not contribute to the solution. No matter how hard we labor in our own strength to achieve personal objectives. God mandated us to labor to enter into His rest. His work within us becomes His work through us. As we surrender to the Spirit within ourselves, we enter into Him. Vessels of submission to Christ within becomes His reflection without.
We are called to labor to enter into the rest of God. Our nations are in desperate need for the revealing of Christ through His sons and daughters.
Hebrews 4:9-11 KJV “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”
The internal confusion or agitation within man can only be transformed as we deliberately turn to the finished work of Christ. To moil towards the rest of God establish clarity, clear direction, order and peace. The way of the Kingdom is not in turmoil. The way of the Kingdom is righteousness, peace and joy of the Holy Spirit. This principle applies to the people of God. The worldly leaders cannot establish the principle of the Kingdom without truth as the cornerstone or foundation for morality.
Isa.45:22-23 “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.
It is so easy to rather focus on the inability of others and in the process of doing just that, to lose our own ability of governance. We have the ministry of reconciliation. We have the word of reconciliation. We are not reporters of turmoil; we are the turners of mourning into dancing. We are the ones who are called to be the remnant of His Kingdom. Activation is the consequence of turning towards something or someone. God urges His people to turn to Him. That turning is often times a deliberate action to repent, recalculate or evaluate the course of action to find your way to the rest of God.
Isaiah 41:10 “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
We can move and have our being fearlessly because God is with us. Our God is with us. Our focus is more on who He is inside us than what goes on in our world. To be awakened to spiritual truth is to be God conscious. Our actions are determined by conscious inner inspiration and not just a reaction to worldly affairs. Fear in itself becomes the motivational factor of propaganda. The opposition to unrighteousness are more than regular the promotors of widespread fearful actions. Whose report should the people of God believe? Be fearless in your pursuit to righteousness. Be intentional in your strategy to enter into the rest of God.
Deuteronomy 31:8 “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
God leads His own way. The way of God results in Truth and Life. We have all the courage we may need on our pursuit to be reconciliatory according to our divine appointment. You can make real effective changes if your consciousness is free from emotional turmoil. We have been given the work and the word of reconciliation.
Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
The people of God constantly subdue their mind to the mind of Christ. We want what God wants for His people and for the nation. The standard of living is set by the defining the measures to life by the word of God and impartation to Holy spirit.
Ephesians 4:22-24 “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Romans 12:1“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship”.
As we engage to proper worship the measurement of truth will once again emerge. All facets of life,
relational, emotional, political, social, commerce and physically the people of God are the revealing of our Christ into His world. Righteous response to unrighteous ways restores the peace. Obedience is still the highest form of worship that we possibly can render to God.
Turmoil is everywhere, and the whole world is waiting for solutions to come from the top down. That’s not how it works- community change from the bottom up makes a real difference. -John Meyer
Isaiah 45 NIV. I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
- Peet van der Westhuizen is a ministry son of Dr Mark Hanby; Pastor of ‘House of My Glory,’ Pretoria, South Africa; pspeet@houseofmyglory.com
With all of the news, and all of the commentary
In the hearing, and in the seeing, and the heart of man’s understanding or not: all of these things must come to pass, what things? Our world is being turned upside down and like pawns in a chess game the global Geo political left right and all the in between must coalesce it’s part of the plan of God, and It cannot be changed! the way to enter into Gods rest and not be full of anxiety doubt perplexity is to understand when we see all these things happening the end is not yet but fear not for I am with you, I believe the war of Gog and Magog is upon us but if we read carefully we will find that God is pulling them out into war so that he can show himself great to the world, Why should we fear? it is God commanding these things it is not man it is not evil it is not Satan it is God. it’s not a question to whether we are good enough or not, it’s not a question of how much we know of God in Christ Jesus, the question is do we believe he will see us through. Once we have gained this knowledge in our hearts through the reading of his word, then we can see the Works of God globally and in our own hearts, and the acts of God will draws us closer to him When we finally realize everything that is happening is God Fear leaves, anxiety has to go, when we read the word of God perplexity has to flee. Fear not! this is where we enter in to his rest as we see all of these things happening And understand that it is God, we need to be looking up for our redemption draws nigh. I do believe that when we gain understanding then those who are lost, through us, The sons of God they will gain understanding they will see God working they will not keep doing what they were doing but they will be changed the earth is groaning for the sons of God to speak to the lost that’s what this is all about.
Wow, what a tremendous piece of writing this is – thank you Ps Peet, this is a gem