And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:2)

To walk in cutting-edge vision and fulfill the mandate of Christ for our lives, we must understand how God functions – and understand the dynamics that govern and promote change.

Quantum physics begins to reveal to us a part of God’s way of doing things, through the theory of “chaology”: scientists have discovered that what looks like chaos on the surface actually has a pattern that is moving towards an intended end.

But we didn’t need scientists to tell us what God had already laid out to us. It’s demonstrated in Genesis 1:2, when earth is described as a dark, formless, void; it was in this undistinguishable ruin, that the Spirit of God “moved” and began to create “cosmos” – which is defined by Merriam-Webster as “an orderly harmonious systematic universe.”

This is the pattern of God: He always begins with “chaos”…and creates “cosmos.” Just before we see a true move of the Spirit of God, there usually is what appears to be “chaos” getting ready to be made into “cosmos.”

And all things go from chaos to cosmos by transition.

Often, transition is perceived as loss to human, carnal, fleshly nature. Transition is often the most difficult thing you experience in life. It’s not easily embraced, unless you understand that transition is really only a removal of “created” things, that once served a purpose, but now must undergo “chaos” – utter confusion, disturbance, trouble -- in order to make a place for things destined by God.

There is an interesting illustration of this principle in the Old Testament story of Elijah and Elisha. In 2 Kings 2:1 -15, we learn that the prophet Elijah is about to be taken up to God – and his student and companion, Elisha, is being harangued by other lesser prophets about it.: “And the sons of the prophets…came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know [it]; hold ye your peace.” (2:5)

Elijah asks Elisha what he wants before he leaves him, and Elisha answers, “I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.” Elijah replies, “Thou hast asked a hard thing: [nevertheless], if thou see me [when I am] taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be [so].” (2:10)

The question is, why would this be a hard thing? The answer is: because God declared Elijah would be taken up in a “whirlwind.” And during times that feel like a “whirlwind,” most people can only see the turbulence – the storm – the “shake up”…so they miss out, and never see the promise.

Even many faithful people have trouble seeing God during times of turbulence; all they can see is circumstance, not understanding that the “whirlwind” is just a passageway to the destiny God has already declared over their life.

In the Elijah/Elisha story, the prophets tell Elisha, “Your master is going to be taken from you today, your headship’s going to be taken.” In other words, you’re about to lose what you’ve had. But rather than getting caught up in all that, Elisha tells them to be quiet, and stays focused on Elijah.

Because Elisha took heed of an important clue Elijah had given: “If you can see me when I go.” Meaning, if you can keep your eyes on the promise, and not get caught up in the whirlwind. And that’s what Elisha does, as we read in the Bible:

… [there appeared] a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw [it]… (2 Kings 2:11-12)

Elisha went on to tear his clothes in grief -- but then he picked up Elijah’s mantle and used it to part the waters of the River Jordan!“…when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.” (2:14) Elisha avoided getting thrown off by the whirlwind, and because he “saw it,” received the promised inheritance of Elijah’s spiritual power!

Often the greatest challenge in transition is not in learning something new…but in unlearning something old. One of the ways to transition out of trouble is to begin to “sing praises unto the Lord” -- which become a sacrifice during times of trouble! Praise and worship during turbulence will also usher you into God’s calming and comforting presence.

So begin to cooperate with the Spirit of God as He moves some things out of your life, or “shakes up” some things that are in your life. Begin to see trouble as an incubator for greatness – as God births you into your promised destiny…taking you from chaos to cosmos!