This Week’s Focus:
Divine Chaos—Learn to recognize the surprising ways God shapes us through life’s disorder—and how what feels chaotic may actually be an invitation to deeper trust and inner transformation.
Note to readers: This is the fifth installment in our growing vocabulary for the Divine Flow Lifestyle—a simple framework for experiencing God in real time, real life.
So far, we’ve explored four practices—each linked below—that serve as tools in your spiritual toolbox, helping you slow down and attune to the sacred rhythm moving through your day. Click the links below to revisit those tools:
Ready to explore how divine chaos can become a doorway into God’s wisdom? Let’s dive in.
Chaos: An Unexpected Path to Wisdom
Let’s face it—life is filled with chaos.
The chaos is in us and around us. Our overthinking minds blast us with thoughts, images, and questions:
Who am I? What am I doing? How will I get everything done?
Outside of us, the world seems to spin even faster—people angry with each other, the news echoing doom, the constant noise of a culture on edge.
It can feel overwhelming. If we don’t find a healthy way to relate to the chaos, we eventually shut down. We ghost through life.
But what if chaos isn’t a bad thing? What if it has a holy dimension—a divine chaos—a pattern through which we grow?
A Stroke of Luck
In my late 50s, I suffered a minor stroke. A chiropractor unknowingly severed the carotid artery in my neck during an adjustment. I ended up in the hospital unable to speak clearly. My words came out jumbled and garbled.
As I lay in that bed wondering, What is happening? Where is my life going? I felt a strange peace growing beneath the fear. I realized God didn’t cause the stroke—but something in it was inviting me to a new phase of life.
That night, I remembered a truth I had learned long ago: we grow through a sacred pattern—order, disorder, reorder.
Life moves smoothly for a while. Things make sense. We feel grounded. That’s order.
Then something happens—a health crisis, a relationship rupture, depression, job loss, or just a nagging sense there must be more to life. That’s disorder.
If we can see disorder not as punishment or failure, but as a quiet invitation from God, we can move toward reorder.
As I lay there, I sensed that my disorder was calling me into the second half of life. I had long dreamed of being a spiritual director, writing books and teaching about the contemplative path. I had been doing those things part-time, but my legal career always stood in the way.
That night, in a quiet conversation with God, I realized I was being invited to step away from law and follow my deeper calling. Over time, with God’s grace, I did just that—moving fully into the life of a writer, spiritual director, and mentor.
The stroke—the chaos I feared—became divine chaos: a doorway to reorder and the life I had always longed for. I call it my stroke of luck.
From the Beginning
The first verses of Scripture tell a story of divine chaos.
In the beginning… the earth was formless and void, and darkness covered the face of the deep (Genesis 1:1–2).
Creation didn’t begin with calm—it began with chaos. And what did God do? God moved into the chaos.
The Spirit hovered over the wild waters. God spoke light into darkness.
God separated sky from sea, land from waters, order from disorder—shaping beauty, purpose, and harmony out of what first seemed empty and chaotic.
From the start, God has been transforming chaos into creation, disorder into order, darkness into light. The pattern is woven into the universe. It’s woven into our souls. It’s woven into our stories.
Jesus Lived This Pattern Too
Jesus’s life mirrors this spiritual rhythm.
For thirty years he lived a normal life—growing in wisdom, working with his hands, “doing good, and God was with him.” That was order.
Then came disorder: the rising opposition of religious leaders, the threat of violence, his arrest, crucifixion, and death. In that disorder, he cried out, “My God, my God, why have You abandoned me?” Yet he surrendered: “Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit.”
Through that surrender, God brought forth reorder—resurrection, new life, and the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost. That same Spirit now lives in us.
If Jesus had to pass through order, disorder, and reorder, we shouldn’t be surprised when we encounter the same pattern. Our chaos, seen through a divine lens, becomes the soil of our transformation.
Your Turn
Just like the four seasons in nature, the transforming pattern of order, disorder, and reorder repeats itself throughout our lives. Each cycle brings new lessons, new growth, and deeper wisdom, helping us to move steadily forward on our journey.
Today, gently ask yourself:
Am I in order? If so, give thanks. Keep walking with God in the flow of grace.
Am I in disorder? If so, don’t panic. Don’t shut down. Instead, name it divine chaos—an invitation into deeper growth.
Push gently against the chaos by doing something different so you can listen and discover how God is inviting you to grow on the inside:
• Spend more time in prayer and solitude.
• Read something that nourishes your soul.
• Seek a mentor or spiritual director who can walk with you.
• Ask God, “What are You inviting me to learn?”
Am I in reorder? If so, look back over your shoulder and notice how grace has carried you. Give thanks for the surprising ways God has used what once felt unbearable to shape your heart and deepen your wisdom.
Chaos is not the enemy. It is not a sign that God has abandoned us or punishing us.
It’s often the doorway through which God leads us into new life.
If we quiet our minds and lean into the Spirit, divine chaos becomes an unexpected companion—guiding us toward transformation, wholeness, and grace.
Announcing a New Tool for Your Spiritual Toolbox
If you’re like many of us, your day may start with a barrage of noise—news alerts, emails, texts, responsibilities—all pulling you out of center before you’ve even had your first cup of coffee. It’s easy to begin the morning already anxious, distracted, or feeling behind.
But what if the first voice you heard each day wasn’t the world’s noise… but God’s gentle whisper?
That’s why I created divineFlow Daily—a short morning reflection and quote (each one less than a minute long) designed to help you slow down, breathe, and reconnect with what’s life-giving before the noise sets in.
Each day brings a fresh tool for your spiritual toolbox—something small, simple, and practical you can carry with you into whatever the day holds. And best of all, it’s free.
If you’d like to receive these daily reflections, you can sign up here:
https://buff.ly/SApXT2V
May these daily tools help you walk the path of Divine Flow—one gentle, grace-filled step at a time.
May the rhythm of Divine Flow guide your steps and fill your days with God’s love, guidance, and inner peace.
Your friend in the flow,
brian
P.S. Next week, we’ll explore the phrase Divine Flow—what it means, why it matters, and how its simple pattern can help you experience God directly while quieting your overthinking mind.
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