In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned seven days in Tirzah. 1 Kings 16:15
The life of addiction is chaos. There is no peace. In my own addiction, I lived in constant turmoil, hating who I was, constantly trying to figure out where my next bottle of pills would come from, and continually worrying about someone finding out. In this chaos, I longed for peace. If you’d have asked, I probably would have told you that I would do anything to find peace. Except that I knew my angst was due to my addiction and I knew what it would take to get sober: treatment, meetings, and radical life change. I wanted peace but I remained unwilling to do what it took to get there. So, I sat and wallowed in my turmoil, wishing for a peace that I knew I couldn’t have unless I went through a mountain of misery to get there.
Going our own way eventually leads to turmoil and finding peace means giving up our right to go our own way. This is the lesson of today’s passage, which describes two kingdoms side by side. As you may recall, Israel had previously split into the Northern half (Israel) and the Southern half (Judah). During this time, Judah was ruled by Asa, who followed God and led his people through a time of stability and prosperity. During the same time of Asa’s reign, Israel had six or seven different kings, with each overthrowing and killing his predecessor, and none of them following God. During this time, Israel knew nothing but turmoil and in today’s passage, we’re told that one King, Zimri, sat on the throne for only seven days before he was violently deposed. Israel could have enjoyed the stability and peace that Judah enjoyed, but it would have meant radical change – tearing down their idols and returning to worship God. This, they remained unwilling to do and so, they wallowed in their madness.
Most of us have been here. We find that our lives are tumultuous and we long for peace, yet we remain unwilling to do what it takes to rid ourselves of the thing that causes us misery. Not all turmoil is our own fault, but often, we invite the chaos into our own lives by clinging to that which destroys us: food, porn, drugs, pride, greed, or even work. Whatever our addiction is, if we desire to know peace, we must become willing to do what it takes to give it up and follow God. In doing so, we can find peace, despite the chaos that life throws at us.