The Truth About Creating Order From the Chaos

by Jebraun

I’m not very tidy. That’s not one of my talents. I can bake a mean chocolate brownie, teach a Bible study, run a 10k, and knit a pair of fantastically cabled socks. But I am not tidy. Like, at all. I’ve got piles of stuff everywhere. Books. Paperwork. (Mostly) clean laundry. Various finished and unfinished craft projects. And don’t even look in my pantry.

I don't mind the chaos.

And yet one place I love to make order from chaos is in my writing. I love taking a convoluted idea that’s roaming around in my very messy brain and beating it into submission until it sparkles and shines like a well-polished silver pitcher.

All artists enjoy this process. Writers, musicians, painters, dancers. There’s something satisfying about developing something out of nothing. Why is that?

God's plan for order in the chaos

I believe it goes back to God’s instructions to Adam and Eve in the Garden. “Fill the earth, and subdue it,” He told them in Genesis 1:28.

The Amplified Version says it so beautifully. “And God blessed them [granting them certain authority] and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subjugate it [putting it under your power];”

So many times I’ve heard this passage refer only to having children, but it goes far beyond that aspect. Fruitfulness also refers to our creativity. When we use our gifts and talents,we're working alongside God to make His will done on earth as it is in heaven.

We need to be creative

When we create – when we write a song, story, or poem; paint a delicate watercolor or spray paint a mural; dance a ballet or dubstep – we’re echoing the vast imagination of an unlimited God. We're showing our fruitfulness. We're multiplying the truth. We're flexing the power He gave us. 

So get out there and do it! Write, paint, dance. Learn how to play a musical instrument. Sew a quilt. Build an end table. Decoupage to your heart's content. 

And enjoy the process. Know you’re actually putting into motion His plans. Filling our world with His glory and goodness. Taking chaos and turning it into order. Even if the pantry stays a wee bit messy.

Be blessed,

What’s your favorite way to make order from chaos? Let us know in the comment section!