"A chaos was the first matter. 'Tis here called the earth...because it did most resemble that which was afterwards called earth, a heavy unwieldy mass. 'Tis also called the deep, both for its vastness, and because the waters which were afterwards separated from the earth were now mixed with it...The Creator could have made His work perfect at first, but by this gradual proceeding He would shew what is ordinarily the method of His providence, and grace." (Wesley, biblecommenter.com)

Maybe your mind has been in chaos. It swirls and writhes, and refuses to produce anything orderly. Things needing to be thought through are circling overhead like jets waiting for a clear runway...but which one first? You'd give up coffee for a year if it meant a clear brain. (Well, OK... a week then.)

What about your house? You and your kids are still in pajamas at noon. Every dish that you possess is dirty and sitting on your counter. The phone rings while you balance a baby on your hip and attempt to open a bottle of yellow, banana-smelling antibiotics.

And your life? You're trying to make the 5:00 deadline for your term paper, packing to move, and expecting out-of-town guests on the same weekend. Events are piling up around you like moving boxes. Panic and claustrophobia are oozing between them.

Maybe you can't even think about this while you're in the middle of your chaos, but at some point, look back on those familiar verses and remember that God specializes in order. Starting with our salvation, He pulled us from sin's darkness and evil into His light and holiness. "For I have appeared unto thee for a purpose...to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God." (Acts 16:16-18) If we allow Him, He will order our minds (Isaiah 26:3), our lives (Psalm 16:11), our paths (Psalm 37:23). He did it with the cosmos at the beginning of time, and He still shows us that same providence and grace.