Beyond the Chaos // Bread Bath and Beyond // Feb 8 2026

Devotional

Day 1: God’s Power and Understanding Are Beyond Comprehension

The vastness of creation points to a God whose power is absolute and whose understanding is infinite. He is not distant or detached but intimately involved, holding every star and every life in His hands. This immense power is matched by a profound care for His creation. In the midst of life’s chaos, we can find comfort in the character of a God who is both all-powerful and all-knowing. [02:31]

He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.
Psalm 147:4-5 (ESV)

Reflection: When you consider the specific chaos or uncertainty you are facing right now, how does the truth that God’s understanding is beyond measure change your perspective on it?

Day 2: Chaos Enters Our Lives in Unexpected Ways

Life often follows a predictable rhythm, but it is frequently interrupted by the unexpected. Illness, financial pressures, and broken systems can arrive without warning, disrupting our sense of safety and control. These events create a churn of uncertainty that can leave us feeling anxious and overwhelmed. This chaos is a universal human experience, reminding us of our shared vulnerability. [05:53]

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
John 16:33 (ESV)

Reflection: What is one source of chaos in your life or community that has felt particularly overwhelming recently? How has it impacted your daily routines and your sense of peace?

Day 3: God’s Spirit Hovers Over the Waters of Chaos

From the very beginning, God’s Spirit was present over the formless void, a symbol of profound chaos. The act of creation was not making something from nothing, but bringing order and beauty from the disorder. God’s Ruach—His Spirit and breath—is the active force that calms turmoil and establishes goodness. This same Spirit continues to hover over the chaotic waters in our own lives, bringing order. [12:04]

The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:2 (ESV)

Reflection: Where do you see the evidence of God’s Spirit hovering over a situation of chaos, either in your own life or in the world around you?

Day 4: God Breathes His Shalom Into Our Chaos

The Hebrew concept of Shalom is far more than the absence of conflict; it is the presence of wholeness, order, and complete well-being. God’s breath is the very source of this life and peace, given to humanity at creation. When chaos stirs within us, manifesting as anxiety, fear, or shallow breathing, God invites us to receive His ordered peace. His breath can restore calm and rhythm to our deepest fears. [13:32]

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Genesis 2:7 (ESV)

Reflection: In what practical way can you intentionally receive God’s breath of Shalom today, perhaps through prayer, silence, or mindful breathing, to address a specific area of inner turmoil?

Day 5: We Breathe Together with God’s Spirit and Community

We are not meant to navigate chaos alone. God gives us the gift of His enduring Spirit and the tangible support of a faith community. Just as we might encourage a loved one to “breathe with me” during a moment of panic, we are called to walk alongside one another. Through sacraments, shared meals, and simple presence, we become vessels of God’s peace for each other. [18:18]

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:12 (ESV)

Reflection: Who in your life might need you to come alongside them and simply “breathe with them” through a current struggle? How can you offer the peace of Christ to them this week?

Sermon Summary

How good and fitting it is to remember that God brings order out of the chaos that so often invades daily life. The narrative traces common disruptions—sudden illness, broken supply chains, surprise bills, and the slow erosion of routines—and names how those disruptions produce physical and spiritual distress: anxiety, shallow breath, panic, and the destabilization of relationships. Turning to Scripture, the account highlights God's creative act where Ruach (breath/spirit) hovers over chaotic waters and calls forth order; this same divine breath animates humanity and promises presence in the midst of disturbance. Shalom is reframed not as mere absence of conflict but as wholeness, ordered flourishing, and the repair of what chaos has unmade.

The teaching draws a direct line from creation to the ministry of Jesus: God’s power and understanding are sovereign over storms and sickness, and Jesus’ healings disclose a God who restores broken places. Practical spirituality is offered alongside doctrine. Attention to breath becomes a concrete discipline—slowing, deepening, and counting breaths to counter panic and to cultivate bodily rhythms aligned with God’s life-giving Spirit. Popular culture example and pastoral practice converge to show that restoring breath is a spiritual and physiological antidote to chaos.

Sacraments—baptism and communion—are presented as tangible means of receiving Ruach and participating in communal restoration. Through water and a shared meal, individuals are reminded they do not face upheaval alone; the church gathers to breathe with one another, to hold each other’s hands in moments of fear, and to embody the shalom God intends. The final summons is both pastoral and prophetic: life remains punctuated by surprises and losses, but the presence of God’s breath, the truth of creation’s goodness, and the practices of communal worship and disciplined breathing furnish resources for resilience. Believers are invited into a steadying rhythm where theological truth and simple embodied practices intersect, bringing order, peace, and the assurance that God’s creative work continues to remake the world and heal the broken places within it.

Key Takeaways

1. God orders chaos by shalom God’s work is not merely conflict-resolution; it is cosmic repair that moves creation from fragmentation toward flourishing. Shalom names an integrated peace—justice, health, and right relationship—that resists superficial calm and seeks restorative order. Trusting this means expecting God to act not only individually but structurally, reshaping systems and bodies alike. [12:45]
2. Breath embodies divine life Ruach—breath and spirit—links God’s creative power with human vitality, so breathing is theological as well as biological. Every intentional inhalation recalls the Creator who breathed life into dust and sustains the fragile body through Spirit. Recognizing breath as God’s gift reframes moments of anxiety as opportunities to receive presence, not merely techniques to manage symptoms. [13:32]
3. Sacraments restore communal breathing Baptism and communion are not symbolic extras but sacramental entrances into shared life and Spirit-filled ordering. Through water and a shared meal, individuals are ritually reinhabited by divine breath and remade into a community that breathes together in crisis. These acts re-embody theological truth: salvation is enacted within a people, not only in private devotion. [17:34]
4. Practice breath to resist panic Deliberate breathing is a pastoral practice that cultivates embodied shalom and disrupts panic’s cascade. Learning to lengthen inhales and soften exhales brings neural and spiritual regulation; it trains the body to receive peace rather than produce frantic responses. This discipline becomes a daily sacrament of presence, an accessible way to practice dependence on God’s sustaining breath. [15:57]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[02:31] - Praising God's greatness
[04:43] - Busyness versus chaos
[05:30] - Illness and sudden disruption
[06:25] - Health crises and their fallout
[07:12] - Supply chains and daily life
[08:49] - How chaos affects the body
[09:45] - Scripture: Jesus heals chaos
[11:04] - Ruach over the waters
[12:45] - Shalom: peace as order
[15:57] - Breath practices and healing
[17:34] - Sacraments and communal breath
[18:47] - Commission and benediction

Bible Study Guide

Based on the sermon summary and transcript provided, here is a Bible study discussion guide.

Bible Reading
* Genesis 1:1-2 (ESV): In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
* Genesis 2:7 (ESV): Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
* Mark 1:29-34 (ESV): And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

Observation questions

In the Genesis 1 creation account, what was present before God began His work, and what was God's Spirit (Ruach) doing? [11:04]
According to the sermon, how did ancient cultures view water, and what did it symbolize? [11:29]
What are the two meanings of the Hebrew word "Ruach" that were discussed? [13:32]
What physical examples of chaos disrupting daily life were mentioned, such as sudden illness or broken supply chains? [05:30] [07:12]

Interpretation questions

The Hebrew concept of "Shalom" was described as more than just an absence of conflict. What does this deeper, restorative peace look like in a person's life, relationships, or community? [12:45]
How does the act of God breathing life into Adam connect the divine Spirit (Ruach) to our everyday, physical breath? What does this say about the sacredness of our bodies? [13:54] [14:08]
The sacraments of Baptism and Communion were presented as a means of receiving God's Spirit and communal restoration. How do these shared practices help a community "breathe together" during a crisis? [17:34] [18:01]
Jesus healing Simon's mother-in-law and others is one example of God bringing order to chaos. In what ways can healing restore order and shalom beyond just the physical body?

Application questions

Chaos often manifests as anxiety or shallow breathing [08:49]. This week, when you feel stress rising, what would it look like to intentionally pause and take three deep, slow breaths as an act of receiving God's peace and presence, rather than just trying to manage your symptoms?
God's creation is inherently good, yet we often receive messages that we or the world are a mess [10:33]. What is one area where you struggle to believe in the inherent goodness of God's creation—either in yourself, in others, or in the world? How can remembering you are God's good creation change your perspective today?
We do not face upheaval alone; we have a community to breathe with us [18:18]. Who is one person in your life that you could "breathe with" this week—either by simply being a calm presence with them in their chaos or by sharing your own struggle and asking them to pray with you?
Chaos can come from unexpected bills, health news, or broken routines [05:30] [07:12]. Recall a recent chaotic event in your life. Instead of asking "why did this happen," what would it look like to ask, "God, how are you present with me in this chaos, and how can you bring order and shalom here?"
The sacraments are a tangible gift for communal restoration [17:34]. The next time you participate in Communion, what would it look like to consciously receive it as God's nourishment for your chaos and a reminder that you are part of a body that supports one another?

Sermon Clips

And in that very first day, over the chaos, god sent his spirit, god's ruach, and hovered over the waters, and he separated the water from the land. And it was good. [00:12:02] (17 seconds) #SpiritOverWaters

Let us remember how Jesus gives us the breath of life through the gift of the sacraments of communion and baptism, a way for us to receive God's spirit, God's breath of life, God's ruach through water and a shared meal. [00:17:26] (17 seconds) #BreathThroughSacraments

Now many of have heard the word shalom and we think of it in terms of peace. I feel calm or there is no conflict. But for the Hebrew language, Shalom goes beyond this somewhat superficial understanding of peace, but it is also the peace that is order. The peace that is not chaos, the peace that is more powerful and overcomes chaos. [00:12:45] (28 seconds) #ShalomIsOrder

As we breathe, as we take this action that we take for granted in our lives, most of us do not count our breaths each day. But as we breathe today, let us feel God's power through God's breath of life. The breath that brings us the strength to soar like the eagles. [00:17:01] (25 seconds) #BreatheAndSoar

How many of us have been with a loved one during a chaotic time, whatever that chaos may be, and how often have we just taken their time and their hand and just said, breathe with me. [00:18:18] (15 seconds) #BreatheWithMe

God gives God's own breath to us. When we are born, everyone in the room with the mother is waiting for the first breath. When the baby comes out, pretty much nothing else happens until the first breath that shows us that God's life is in this new child. [00:14:08] (26 seconds) #FirstBreathLife

But as we go forth this week, we can breathe with God's spirit and remember that God's creation is good. God's creation is based on the peace and order of Shalom. [00:18:47] (16 seconds) #BreathOfCreation

So God's spirit or God's breath, ruach is also the Hebrew word for breath, is powerful. And we often say breath is life. When there's an emergency, the first thing we do is check the airway. Are they breathing? Before anything else, are they breathing? Breath is life. [00:13:25] (25 seconds) #BreathIsLife

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Beyond the Chaos // Bread Bath and Beyond // Feb 8 2026

Devotional

Day 1: God’s Power and Understanding Are Beyond Comprehension

Day 2: Chaos Enters Our Lives in Unexpected Ways

Day 3: God’s Spirit Hovers Over the Waters of Chaos

Day 4: God Breathes His Shalom Into Our Chaos

Day 5: We Breathe Together with God’s Spirit and Community

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

Beyond the Chaos // Bread Bath and Beyond // Feb 8 2026

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