“This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.” So they obeyed the word of the Lord and went home again, as the Lord had ordered (1 Kings 12: 24).

My wife has a saying for when things start to go poorly. She calls it a “hot mess.”  And when things get crazy, she describes it as a “hot mess express”.  As I read and reflect on 1 Kings 12, I struggle to accurately summarize everything that’s going on, other than that this passage qualifies for a seat on the “hot mess express”.

As I study and reflect, I keep asking, “Where is God in all of this?”

A better question might be, “God is there. Why is no one paying attention?”

After Solomon dies, we witness a very messy split for God’s chosen people. Rehoboam, the son of Solomon becomes king over the tribes of Judah and Benjamin in the south. Jeroboam, a rival and usurper, becomes the king of the ten tribes in the north. 

Both seek advice from various groups of people and ultimately make decisions based on what they think a king should be while ignoring God’s vision of a king.  This nearly leads to civil war which was only prevented when God stepped in via a prophet to say, “Don’t fight against your brothers. Go home.” 

A hot mess nearly turned into a total disaster, prevented only when the people listened to God.  This intervention was a great reminder that, as God’s chosen people, they had specific laws and behaviors given to them by God. They were called to be different, and not like other people around them.    Listening to God produced amazing results, and so you would think the people would put God back at the center.

Unfortunately, not. While God is right there, amid this mess, being faithful to his people, the hot mess express continued.  Rehoboam and Jeroboam contribute more and more to the messiness. I’ll spare the details, but things continue to get worse.  

But I can learn from their poor example and make the choice to embrace God’s faithfulness in all areas of my life.   

I turn my question about them to a question about me. “Am I paying attention to God?” God is faithful to things like holiness, justice, truth, mercy, compassion, and love.  And he’s calling me, one of his people, to live according to all these attributes.  And not only when things get messy.  

When I do find myself seated on the “hot mess express”, I can count on God to be right next to me, reminding me of his faithfulness and counsel with a little “how about you give my way a try?”   

Life can be messy.  But it’s never because of a lack of God’s faithfulness to us.  Is there a mess in your life you’re trying to solve? Are you doing it by yourself, without God? Take time this week to quietly remind yourself of God’s faithfulness in all things.  Then take a fresh look at how together with God you can approach that mess.