“ Peace will never be permanent in the soul of the person who rejects God’ s order.”
The beginning of creation reveals a God who knows how to rearrange, organize, unclutter, clean, uncomplicate, simplify, and structure life. God’ s solution for the Chaos found in Genesis wasn’ t to bring peace; it was to establish Order. Ironically, peace is always a natural by-product once Order takes root in the cosmos, and I have discovered that God’ s strategy for responding to Chaos hasn’ t changed.
“ Peace will never be permanent in the soul of the person who rejects God’ s order.”
Order was the missing key in our ministry approach, as anxiety was simply a result or by-product of chaos. I had spent all my time focused on the check engine light of anxiety instead of popping open the hood and actually checking the engine. Anxiety is just a symptom of the real, undiagnosed chaos living deep within us. I had been preaching about peace, essentially medicating pain and providing temporary quick fixes, instead of addressing the root of the problem. The good news is that there’ s a cure for Chaos, and my discovery of that cure is what this book is all about. The cure for Chaos is Order.
There’ s an Order to life that’ s revealed in the Scriptures. Take sex for example. The Bible’ s vision: Sex goes after marriage, not before. Confusing this sequence will inevitably create chaos.
Unnecessary heartbreak. Soul ties with multiple individuals. Insecurity. Possessive behavior. Children born outside of wedlock. Baby-mama drama. Child support.
This is absolute chaos.
And it creates abundant opportunities for anxiety to thrive. It doesn’ t matter how much we pray for peace— peace will never be permanent in the soul of the person who rejects God’ s order.
Our families, churches, and institutions can flourish only when they are well ordered. God’ s order for families involves mothers and fathers who are present, engaged, and invested in the flourishing of their children. Mothers and fathers who exercise healthy authority over their children to guide, teach, and protect them. When this order is ignored or rejected, chaos ensues. Allow me to give an example around fatherhood.
According to a 2022 United States Census Bureau report, about one in five children are currently growing up without a father in the home, and the negative results speak for themselves. Removing the father from the head of the home creates chaos within society.
“ Research suggests that fatherlessness is a significant contributor to mental health issues in children... and 71 % of all children who abuse substances come from fatherless
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