April 16, 2026 • 24 mins
Ever had a moment where your brain went from “this is fine” to “everything is falling apart and I need to emotionally relocate”… in under 30 seconds?
Yeah. Same.
In this episode of Divine Shenanigans, we’re talking about what it looks like to trust a calm God… when your nervous system is doing the absolute most. Because while we’re over here overthinking, spiraling, and preparing for outcomes that haven’t even happened yet—God is steady, present, and completely unbothered.
Through real-life stories, relatable humor, and powerful Scripture, this episode walks through how God shows up in the middle of storms, stress, and internal chaos—and how we can begin to live from a place of peace instead of panic.
✨ Inside this episode:
- Why we panic when we feel out of control
- The story of Jesus calming the storm (and why He was asleep 😅)
- How anxiety shows up even when we’re close to God (hi, Martha)
- What it actually means to trust God while you’re afraid
- Practical ways to slow down your reactions and invite God into the moment
- “Holy Homework” to help you break the panic cycle in real life
🎶 Song of the Week: Grace in the Madness – Brynn Elise
(Full version plays at the end of the episode)
Listen on the Brynn Elise: Worship & Words YouTube channel
If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, emotionally reactive, or just tired of your own thoughts… this episode is your reminder:
👉 You’re not crazy
👉 You’re human
👉 And God is still calm—even when you’re not
💛 Connect & Grow with the Divine Shenanigans Community:
Join the conversation, share your story, and get encouragement for real-life faith.
☕ Support the show: buymeacoffee.com/DivineShenanigans
💬 Join the Community:
📌 Website: https://divineshenanigans.com
📌 Skool Community: Divine Shenanigans
This space is for:
✅ encouragement that feels like a deep breath
✅ Scripture that actually connects to real life
✅ gentle growth (no hustle-faith allowed)
✅ prayer + peace
✅ laughter + honesty
✅ support from people who get it
You don’t have to clean yourself up to belong here.
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🎶 Also from Brynn:
Check out my music – BrynnElise: Worship & Words – available on all streaming platforms and YouTube!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_02 (00:00):
It's divided.
Holy Averity with Christmas.
It's sanctified.
With print on the light andtruth in her hand.
She's breaking down the Biblewith laughter and applied.
It's divine.
(00:21):
Oh, it's divine shenanigans.
SPEAKER_00 (00:29):
Hey y'all.
Welcome back to DivineShenanigans, where we are
learning, laughing, and lovingJesus, one mildly chaotic,
emotionally dramatic, I need tosit down for a second moment at
a time.
I'm your host, Bryn, and today'sepisode is called God Doesn't
Panic, but I do.
(00:49):
And listen, if you've everspiraled over something that
hadn't even happened yet, ifyou've ever refreshed your email
like it personally offended you,if your brain has ever gone from
hmm, that's weird, to everythingis ruined and I will now
disappear into the forest, thisepisode's for you.
(01:11):
Because here's what we'retalking about today.
God is steady.
God is calm.
God is not pacing heaven saying,oh no, what are we gonna do?
Meanwhile, we're over heregoogling symptoms we don't even
have, replaying conversationsfrom 2007, and preparing
emotionally for situations thatdon't even exist yet.
(01:35):
So today we're going to sit inthis tension.
God doesn't panic even when Iabsolutely do.
So of course we have to startwhere we always do around here,
with a little honesty, a littlestorytelling, and a little I
thought I had it together, but Idid not.
(01:56):
Okay, so let me tell you aboutone of my finest emotional
spiral moments.
And when I say finest, I meanOlympic level overthinking.
Gold medal, no competition.
So I sent a message.
Simple, normal, harmless.
At least that's what I thoughtwhen I hit send.
(02:21):
You ever hit send on a messageand then you're like two seconds
later, your soul leaves yourbody.
Immediately.
You're like, wait, why did Iphrase it like that?
Why did I add that extrasentence?
Why did I use that emoji?
Because emojis are risky, okay?
The crying laughing emoji canmean haha or it can mean I'm
(02:44):
masking pain and also slightlypassive aggressive.
So now I'm rereading my ownmessage like it's a legal
document.
I'm analyzing the tone, sentencestructure, punctuation.
Like was that period aggressive?
Should that have been anexclamation mark?
(03:05):
Did I sound too calm?
Because apparently there's awrong way to be calm now.
And let me just say, ifoverthinking burned calories, I
would be the fittest person inNorth America.
So now we've moved past mildconcern.
We are entering full narrativebuilding, emotional
(03:28):
storytelling, completelyfictional conclusions.
And now my brain is like, okay,so they're going to read that
and they're gonna misunderstandit, and then they're gonna think
you meant something else, andthen they're gonna respond
weird, and then they're gonna beawkward forever, and now you've
(03:49):
ruined the relationship.
Ma'am, it's been three minutes.
They haven't even opened themessage.
So now I'm watching my phonelike it owes me money.
And you know that energy, like,go ahead, light up.
I know you see it.
Don't play with me right now.
And then it says red.
(04:12):
Silence.
Oh, we are not okay.
Now my brain is like, this isit, this is a moment everything
falls apart.
I should have just stayed quietforever.
Why do I even communicate?
So what do I do?
Well, I start drafting afollow-up message because
(04:33):
obviously the best thing you cando when you feel misunderstood
is send more words.
So now I'm typing hey just toclarify.
Hey, I hope that didn't comeacross wrong.
Hey, just circling back in case,and now I'm editing that
message.
Because now we've got twoopportunities to mess this up.
(04:56):
And at this point I'm like,maybe I should just throw my
phone in the ocean and start anew life as a quiet person.
And then in the middle of all ofthis, I had a moment of clarity.
Of course it was notimmediately, not gracefully, but
eventually I realized nothinghad actually happened.
(05:21):
There was no conflict, noconfrontation, no actual
problem.
It was just my thoughts, myassumptions, my need to control
the outcome.
My body was reacting like therewas danger, but there was no
danger.
My mind created a storm thatdidn't exist in reality.
(05:45):
And you want to know how itended?
They responded, Hey, sorry Ijust saw this.
Sounds good.
That was it.
I almost wrote a whole emotionaldissertation and they said
sounds good.
And that's when it hit me.
I panic when I feel out ofcontrol.
(06:07):
God doesn't panic because henever loses control.
And if we're being honest, we dothis all the time, not just with
texts, but with situations,relationships, our future, our
calling, our purpose.
We fill in the blanks with fearwhile God is sitting there like
(06:31):
I already know how this ends.
So if you've ever created awhole emotional crisis out of
something that hadn't evenhappened yet, congratulations.
You are officially one of us.
Now let's talk about it.
Because the Divine ShenaniganSquad, y'all are beautifully
(06:51):
honest.
We've got the overthinker.
I had a meeting at work and Ireplayed it thirty seven times,
and I am now convinced I ruinedmy career.
Meanwhile, the boss said greatjob.
There you have that.
Then we have the text spiral.
(07:12):
I saw someone read my messageand not respond, so now I assume
they hate me.
The future catastrophizer Ihaven't even started the thing
yet, but I've already imaginedit failing.
So what do all of these have incommon?
(07:32):
We are reacting topossibilities, not realities.
We are trying to controloutcomes.
We are letting fear writestories God never authorized.
We panic in imagined futures.
God stays present in the truth.
(07:53):
Alright, so we laughed a littlebit, we exposed our spirals,
we've admitted that some of ourstress is self-inflicted.
But now we're going to groundthis in something stronger than
our emotions.
Because feelings are loud, buttruth is steady.
And if we're going to learn howto live like God isn't
(08:14):
panicking, we need to see how heshows up in situations that
absolutely look like theydeserve panic.
Jesus calms the storm.
Mark four thirty five to fortyone.
Alright, so picture this withme.
It's nighttime, you're on aboat, not a cruise ship, a boat
(08:37):
boat, you know, boat.
No Wi-Fi, no life jackets, nocaptain speaking announcements,
just vibes and water.
Jesus says let's go to the otherside.
And the disciples are like cool,love that.
Sounds peaceful.
And then a storm shows up.
(08:59):
Not a drizzle, not a lightinconvenience.
A storm so intense thatprofessional fishermen, people
who live on the water arepanicking.
These are not dramatic people.
These are not first time boatriders.
These are men who have seenstorms before.
(09:20):
And this one scared them.
Meanwhile, Jesus, Jesus, he'sasleep.
And I just need to pause herebecause if I'm on that boat and
a storm hits and I look over andJesus is taking a nap, we're
gonna have a conversation.
Like excuse me, Savior of theworld, now would be a great time
(09:43):
to be awake.
The disciples wake him up andsay, Teacher, don't you care
that we are perishing?
Now notice what panic does.
It questions God's presence.
It questions God's care.
It assumes the worst outcome.
So Jesus gets up, he rebukes thewind and says to the sea, peace,
(10:07):
be still.
And immediately everythingcalms.
The storm didn't have the finalsay.
Jesus did.
The storm was real, but so washis authority.
And here's what gets me.
Jesus was not surprised by thestorm.
He didn't wake up like oh wow, Ididn't see that coming.
(10:31):
He was calm before the stormstopped.
God is not waiting for yoursituation to calm down before he
becomes peaceful.
He already is.
So let me ask you this.
Where are you panicking rightnow?
What storm feels louder thanGod's voice?
(10:53):
Now let's move from externalstorms to internal ones.
Because sometimes the chaosisn't around us, it's inside of
us.
We have Mary and Martha, Luke10, 38 to 42.
Jesus comes to visit, and Marthais hosting, which means cooking,
cleaning, preparing, managingexpectations.
(11:15):
Mary sitting at Jesus' feet.
So let me translate this intomodern language.
Martha is doing everything, andMary is doing nothing.
And Martha's like, is nobodyelse seeing this?
Martha goes to Jesus and says,Lord, don't you care that my
(11:36):
sister has left me to do thework alone?
There it is again.
Don't you care?
That's the same question thedisciples asked in the storm.
When we feel overwhelmed, weoften assume God is uninvolved.
Jesus responds to Martha.
Martha, you are worried andupset about many things.
(12:00):
But only one thing is needed.
Martha wasn't wrong for serving.
She was overwhelmed because shelost focus.
You can be doing good things andstill be operating from anxiety.
Martha was physically close toJesus, but emotionally
overwhelmed.
(12:21):
Mary was still and present.
So here's the question Are youbusy for God but not actually
resting with him?
Now let's talk about fear itselfbecause the Bible doesn't
pretend it doesn't exist.
David and fear Psalm fifty sixthree.
(12:43):
When I am afraid, I put my trustin you.
Not if when fear is not failure.
Fear is human.
David didn't deny fear.
He redirected it.
David was hunted, betrayed,attacked, misunderstood.
(13:04):
He had real reasons to panic.
God doesn't require you to befearless.
He invites you to trust himwhile you feel fear.
Let's bring this into one moremoment where everything looked
lost.
Jesus in Gethame, Matthew twentysix, thirty six through forty
(13:27):
six.
Jesus is about to be arrested,betrayed, crucified.
And what does he do?
He prays.
He says My soul is overwhelmedwith sorrow.
Even Jesus felt overwhelmed.
He didn't panic, but he didn'tpretend either.
(13:48):
He prayed.
Father, if it's possible, letthis cup pass from me, but not
my will, yours be done.
Peace doesn't mean the absenceof emotion.
It means surrender in the middleof it.
God's claim doesn't cancel yourfeelings, it anchors you through
(14:11):
them.
So what do we see across all ofthese stories?
Storms happen, people feeloverwhelmed, fear shows up.
But also we see that God ispresent.
God is steady.
God is not panicking.
And maybe just maybe, the goalisn't to become someone who
(14:34):
never feels anxious, but tobecome someone who recognizes
the spiral, pauses in themoment, and remembers God is not
reacting, he is reigning.
So now the question is how do weactually live this out?
When our nervous system is doingthe absolute most.
(14:56):
So let's talk about it.
Name what actually happened.
Instead of everything is fallingapart, say I feel anxious about
this situation.
Check the facts.
Ask, what do I know versus whatam I assuming?
Pause before reacting.
(15:18):
You don't have to respondimmediately.
You can breathe, you can pray,you can wait.
Invite God into the moment, notafter the spiral, during it.
God doesn't require calmbehavior.
He invites honest presence.
Alright, it's time for a littleaccountability and y'all know
(15:42):
what that means.
It's holy homework time.
This week, I want you to catchthe panic thought.
Write it down.
Challenge it.
Is it true or is it fear?
Replace it with God's help.
I'm okay in this moment.
Take one moment this week whereyou would normally react quickly
(16:06):
and choose stillness instead.
Alright, before we close outtoday, before we wrap everything
up nice and neat, I want to giveyou a moment to just sit in what
we just talked about.
Because sometimes we hear truth.
We nod our heads and we say,yeah, that's good.
(16:27):
And then we immediately move on.
But this part, this is where welet it sink in.
So this week's song of the weekis Grace in the Madness by
myself, Brenny Lees.
And you can find it on BrinnyLees Worship and Words YouTube
channel, and it's also streamingeverywhere.
(16:47):
I want to tell you somethingabout this song.
This isn't an I had it alltogether and wrote it song.
This is a my thoughts were loud.
My emotions were all over theplace.
I was trying to hold it togetherand not doing a very great job,
kind of song.
You know those moments whereyou're like, I'm fine, but your
(17:10):
brain is like, are we through?
Yep, that's where this songlives.
Because here's the truth wedon't talk about enough.
Grace isn't just for when you'vecalmed down.
Grace is for the spiral, theoverthinking, the emotional
overwhelm, the I reacted beforeI prayed moments.
(17:32):
God doesn't wait for you to getpeaceful before he gives you
grace.
We talked today about how Goddoesn't panic, how God is
steady, and how he is present.
But if we're being honest, wedon't always feel that.
Sometimes it feels like yourthoughts are racing, your chest
(17:52):
is tight, your mind won't slowdown and peace feels far away.
And in those moments, it's easyto think something's wrong with
me.
But this song is your reminder.
Nothing is wrong with you.
You're just human in a momentthat needs grace.
(18:13):
God is not overwhelmed by what'soverwhelming you.
So as you listen to this songwhich we'll play at the very end
of this episode, don't just hearit.
Let it sit with you.
If you need to, close your eyes,sit still, replay it as many
times as you need to.
Or if you're driving, don'tdon't close your eyes, safety
(18:36):
first, saints.
Let this be your moment torelease the pressure, quiet the
noise, and remember that even inthe madness, you are still held.
Let's pray together.
God, you see us in our anxiousmoments.
You see the spiraling thoughts,the overthinking, the fear of
(18:59):
what might happen, and you arenot overwhelmed.
You are steady, you are present,you are near.
Help us remember that we don'thave to carry everything.
Teach us how to pause, how tobreathe, how to trust you in
real time.
(19:20):
Not when everything is perfect,but right here in the middle of
the mess.
Thank you for being calm when weare not.
We love you.
Amen.
Thank you for being here, myfriend.
If this episode spoke to you,please share it with someone who
(19:40):
needs a reminder.
You're not crazy, you're human,and God is still steady.
And don't forget to subscribe,follow wherever you're
listening, and also on myYouTube channel.
Find the Divine ShenanigansCommunity on School.
I am starting a daily Biblestudy that will eventually cover
the entire Bible, starting atthe very beginning of it all,
(20:02):
Genesis.
It's called Daily Shenanigans inScripture, and it's free and
will go live on May 1st, 2026.
Follow us also on Substack atDivine Shenanigans for a monthly
newsletter.
And if you want to support theshow, you can always fuel my
faith and caffeine at BuyMeACoffee slash Divine
(20:24):
Shenanigans.
Takes a lot of caffeine to bethis witty.
So take a deep breath.
Release the pressure.
God's got it, even when you feellike you don't.
Now, here's the premiere of oursong of the week, Grace in the
Madness by Brittany Lees fromBrittany Lees Worship and Words
(20:44):
YouTube channel.
Let it meet you right where youare.
God bless you, my friend.
SPEAKER_01 (20:52):
I cried in the car over something small.
A look at tone didn't matter atall.
My heart hit panic like a firealarm, and I couldn't tell truth
from the harm.
I replay words like a brokentape.
Turn every pause into a worstcase shape.
I build whole storms from a dropof rain.
(21:14):
Then ask you why I feel thisway.
I know I'm not seeing cleartonight.
But feelings are loud and theyfeel so right.
So have grace for theemotionally overreacted.
When my heart goes loud and mythoughts get dramatic.
(21:37):
When I'm spiraling fast overthings I imagine being in the
middle of it all.
(22:00):
But you don't overreact at all.
I take a silence and call itgoodbye.
Turn a delay until they don'tcare why.
I read between lines that werenever there.
Then carry the weight of iteverywhere.
I know this pattern, I've walkedit before.
(22:20):
Knocking on anxiety's familiardoor.
But somewhere deeper than allthis noise is a quieter truth in
your voice.
You don't rush to the worst inme.
You see the whole, not just whatI see.
(22:43):
So have grace for theemotionally overreactive.
When my heart goes loud and mythoughts get dramatic.
When I'm spiraling fast overthings, I imagine maybe here in
the middle of it all.
Have grace when I'm jumping toconclusions, writing stories
that just aren't true.
And I forget that your love'snot confusing.
(23:06):
Steady when I'm about to fall.
Yeah, I'm a mess, but you don'toverreact at all.
You don't flinch when I fallapart.
You don't shame my fragileheart.
You don't match my frantic pace.
(23:27):
You slow me down with patientgrace.
You're not startled by my fear.
You don't disappear when I needyou near.
Even when I make it bigger thanit is, you remind me who you are
in this.
Maybe I don't have to fix ittonight.
(23:49):
Maybe I can just sit in yourlife.
Have grace for the emotionallyoverreactive when my heart goes
loud and my thoughts getdramatic.
When I'm spiraling fast overthings, I imagine me here in the
middle of it all.
Have grace when I'm lost inconfusion.
(24:12):
Caught between fear andillusion.
Help me remember what's actuallytrue.
That I am safe here with you.
I might still feel it all alittle too much.
But I'm learning to trust thatyour love does in rush, and you
(24:35):
don't overreact, you just stay.
It's divided.
Holy Averity with Christmas.
It's sanctified.
With print on the light andtruth in her hand.
She's breaking down the Biblewith laughter and applied.
It's divine.
(00:21):
Oh, it's divine shenanigans.
SPEAKER_00 (00:29):
Hey y'all.
Welcome back to DivineShenanigans, where we are
learning, laughing, and lovingJesus, one mildly chaotic,
emotionally dramatic, I need tosit down for a second moment at
a time.
I'm your host, Bryn, and today'sepisode is called God Doesn't
Panic, but I do.
(00:49):
And listen, if you've everspiraled over something that
hadn't even happened yet, ifyou've ever refreshed your email
like it personally offended you,if your brain has ever gone from
hmm, that's weird, to everythingis ruined and I will now
disappear into the forest, thisepisode's for you.
(01:11):
Because here's what we'retalking about today.
God is steady.
God is calm.
God is not pacing heaven saying,oh no, what are we gonna do?
Meanwhile, we're over heregoogling symptoms we don't even
have, replaying conversationsfrom 2007, and preparing
emotionally for situations thatdon't even exist yet.
(01:35):
So today we're going to sit inthis tension.
God doesn't panic even when Iabsolutely do.
So of course we have to startwhere we always do around here,
with a little honesty, a littlestorytelling, and a little I
thought I had it together, but Idid not.
(01:56):
Okay, so let me tell you aboutone of my finest emotional
spiral moments.
And when I say finest, I meanOlympic level overthinking.
Gold medal, no competition.
So I sent a message.
Simple, normal, harmless.
At least that's what I thoughtwhen I hit send.
(02:21):
You ever hit send on a messageand then you're like two seconds
later, your soul leaves yourbody.
Immediately.
You're like, wait, why did Iphrase it like that?
Why did I add that extrasentence?
Why did I use that emoji?
Because emojis are risky, okay?
The crying laughing emoji canmean haha or it can mean I'm
(02:44):
masking pain and also slightlypassive aggressive.
So now I'm rereading my ownmessage like it's a legal
document.
I'm analyzing the tone, sentencestructure, punctuation.
Like was that period aggressive?
Should that have been anexclamation mark?
(03:05):
Did I sound too calm?
Because apparently there's awrong way to be calm now.
And let me just say, ifoverthinking burned calories, I
would be the fittest person inNorth America.
So now we've moved past mildconcern.
We are entering full narrativebuilding, emotional
(03:28):
storytelling, completelyfictional conclusions.
And now my brain is like, okay,so they're going to read that
and they're gonna misunderstandit, and then they're gonna think
you meant something else, andthen they're gonna respond
weird, and then they're gonna beawkward forever, and now you've
(03:49):
ruined the relationship.
Ma'am, it's been three minutes.
They haven't even opened themessage.
So now I'm watching my phonelike it owes me money.
And you know that energy, like,go ahead, light up.
I know you see it.
Don't play with me right now.
And then it says red.
(04:12):
Silence.
Oh, we are not okay.
Now my brain is like, this isit, this is a moment everything
falls apart.
I should have just stayed quietforever.
Why do I even communicate?
So what do I do?
Well, I start drafting afollow-up message because
(04:33):
obviously the best thing you cando when you feel misunderstood
is send more words.
So now I'm typing hey just toclarify.
Hey, I hope that didn't comeacross wrong.
Hey, just circling back in case,and now I'm editing that
message.
Because now we've got twoopportunities to mess this up.
(04:56):
And at this point I'm like,maybe I should just throw my
phone in the ocean and start anew life as a quiet person.
And then in the middle of all ofthis, I had a moment of clarity.
Of course it was notimmediately, not gracefully, but
eventually I realized nothinghad actually happened.
(05:21):
There was no conflict, noconfrontation, no actual
problem.
It was just my thoughts, myassumptions, my need to control
the outcome.
My body was reacting like therewas danger, but there was no
danger.
My mind created a storm thatdidn't exist in reality.
(05:45):
And you want to know how itended?
They responded, Hey, sorry Ijust saw this.
Sounds good.
That was it.
I almost wrote a whole emotionaldissertation and they said
sounds good.
And that's when it hit me.
I panic when I feel out ofcontrol.
(06:07):
God doesn't panic because henever loses control.
And if we're being honest, we dothis all the time, not just with
texts, but with situations,relationships, our future, our
calling, our purpose.
We fill in the blanks with fearwhile God is sitting there like
(06:31):
I already know how this ends.
So if you've ever created awhole emotional crisis out of
something that hadn't evenhappened yet, congratulations.
You are officially one of us.
Now let's talk about it.
Because the Divine ShenaniganSquad, y'all are beautifully
(06:51):
honest.
We've got the overthinker.
I had a meeting at work and Ireplayed it thirty seven times,
and I am now convinced I ruinedmy career.
Meanwhile, the boss said greatjob.
There you have that.
Then we have the text spiral.
(07:12):
I saw someone read my messageand not respond, so now I assume
they hate me.
The future catastrophizer Ihaven't even started the thing
yet, but I've already imaginedit failing.
So what do all of these have incommon?
(07:32):
We are reacting topossibilities, not realities.
We are trying to controloutcomes.
We are letting fear writestories God never authorized.
We panic in imagined futures.
God stays present in the truth.
(07:53):
Alright, so we laughed a littlebit, we exposed our spirals,
we've admitted that some of ourstress is self-inflicted.
But now we're going to groundthis in something stronger than
our emotions.
Because feelings are loud, buttruth is steady.
And if we're going to learn howto live like God isn't
(08:14):
panicking, we need to see how heshows up in situations that
absolutely look like theydeserve panic.
Jesus calms the storm.
Mark four thirty five to fortyone.
Alright, so picture this withme.
It's nighttime, you're on aboat, not a cruise ship, a boat
(08:37):
boat, you know, boat.
No Wi-Fi, no life jackets, nocaptain speaking announcements,
just vibes and water.
Jesus says let's go to the otherside.
And the disciples are like cool,love that.
Sounds peaceful.
And then a storm shows up.
(08:59):
Not a drizzle, not a lightinconvenience.
A storm so intense thatprofessional fishermen, people
who live on the water arepanicking.
These are not dramatic people.
These are not first time boatriders.
These are men who have seenstorms before.
(09:20):
And this one scared them.
Meanwhile, Jesus, Jesus, he'sasleep.
And I just need to pause herebecause if I'm on that boat and
a storm hits and I look over andJesus is taking a nap, we're
gonna have a conversation.
Like excuse me, Savior of theworld, now would be a great time
(09:43):
to be awake.
The disciples wake him up andsay, Teacher, don't you care
that we are perishing?
Now notice what panic does.
It questions God's presence.
It questions God's care.
It assumes the worst outcome.
So Jesus gets up, he rebukes thewind and says to the sea, peace,
(10:07):
be still.
And immediately everythingcalms.
The storm didn't have the finalsay.
Jesus did.
The storm was real, but so washis authority.
And here's what gets me.
Jesus was not surprised by thestorm.
He didn't wake up like oh wow, Ididn't see that coming.
(10:31):
He was calm before the stormstopped.
God is not waiting for yoursituation to calm down before he
becomes peaceful.
He already is.
So let me ask you this.
Where are you panicking rightnow?
What storm feels louder thanGod's voice?
(10:53):
Now let's move from externalstorms to internal ones.
Because sometimes the chaosisn't around us, it's inside of
us.
We have Mary and Martha, Luke10, 38 to 42.
Jesus comes to visit, and Marthais hosting, which means cooking,
cleaning, preparing, managingexpectations.
(11:15):
Mary sitting at Jesus' feet.
So let me translate this intomodern language.
Martha is doing everything, andMary is doing nothing.
And Martha's like, is nobodyelse seeing this?
Martha goes to Jesus and says,Lord, don't you care that my
(11:36):
sister has left me to do thework alone?
There it is again.
Don't you care?
That's the same question thedisciples asked in the storm.
When we feel overwhelmed, weoften assume God is uninvolved.
Jesus responds to Martha.
Martha, you are worried andupset about many things.
(12:00):
But only one thing is needed.
Martha wasn't wrong for serving.
She was overwhelmed because shelost focus.
You can be doing good things andstill be operating from anxiety.
Martha was physically close toJesus, but emotionally
overwhelmed.
(12:21):
Mary was still and present.
So here's the question Are youbusy for God but not actually
resting with him?
Now let's talk about fear itselfbecause the Bible doesn't
pretend it doesn't exist.
David and fear Psalm fifty sixthree.
(12:43):
When I am afraid, I put my trustin you.
Not if when fear is not failure.
Fear is human.
David didn't deny fear.
He redirected it.
David was hunted, betrayed,attacked, misunderstood.
(13:04):
He had real reasons to panic.
God doesn't require you to befearless.
He invites you to trust himwhile you feel fear.
Let's bring this into one moremoment where everything looked
lost.
Jesus in Gethame, Matthew twentysix, thirty six through forty
(13:27):
six.
Jesus is about to be arrested,betrayed, crucified.
And what does he do?
He prays.
He says My soul is overwhelmedwith sorrow.
Even Jesus felt overwhelmed.
He didn't panic, but he didn'tpretend either.
(13:48):
He prayed.
Father, if it's possible, letthis cup pass from me, but not
my will, yours be done.
Peace doesn't mean the absenceof emotion.
It means surrender in the middleof it.
God's claim doesn't cancel yourfeelings, it anchors you through
(14:11):
them.
So what do we see across all ofthese stories?
Storms happen, people feeloverwhelmed, fear shows up.
But also we see that God ispresent.
God is steady.
God is not panicking.
And maybe just maybe, the goalisn't to become someone who
(14:34):
never feels anxious, but tobecome someone who recognizes
the spiral, pauses in themoment, and remembers God is not
reacting, he is reigning.
So now the question is how do weactually live this out?
When our nervous system is doingthe absolute most.
(14:56):
So let's talk about it.
Name what actually happened.
Instead of everything is fallingapart, say I feel anxious about
this situation.
Check the facts.
Ask, what do I know versus whatam I assuming?
Pause before reacting.
(15:18):
You don't have to respondimmediately.
You can breathe, you can pray,you can wait.
Invite God into the moment, notafter the spiral, during it.
God doesn't require calmbehavior.
He invites honest presence.
Alright, it's time for a littleaccountability and y'all know
(15:42):
what that means.
It's holy homework time.
This week, I want you to catchthe panic thought.
Write it down.
Challenge it.
Is it true or is it fear?
Replace it with God's help.
I'm okay in this moment.
Take one moment this week whereyou would normally react quickly
(16:06):
and choose stillness instead.
Alright, before we close outtoday, before we wrap everything
up nice and neat, I want to giveyou a moment to just sit in what
we just talked about.
Because sometimes we hear truth.
We nod our heads and we say,yeah, that's good.
(16:27):
And then we immediately move on.
But this part, this is where welet it sink in.
So this week's song of the weekis Grace in the Madness by
myself, Brenny Lees.
And you can find it on BrinnyLees Worship and Words YouTube
channel, and it's also streamingeverywhere.
(16:47):
I want to tell you somethingabout this song.
This isn't an I had it alltogether and wrote it song.
This is a my thoughts were loud.
My emotions were all over theplace.
I was trying to hold it togetherand not doing a very great job,
kind of song.
You know those moments whereyou're like, I'm fine, but your
(17:10):
brain is like, are we through?
Yep, that's where this songlives.
Because here's the truth wedon't talk about enough.
Grace isn't just for when you'vecalmed down.
Grace is for the spiral, theoverthinking, the emotional
overwhelm, the I reacted beforeI prayed moments.
(17:32):
God doesn't wait for you to getpeaceful before he gives you
grace.
We talked today about how Goddoesn't panic, how God is
steady, and how he is present.
But if we're being honest, wedon't always feel that.
Sometimes it feels like yourthoughts are racing, your chest
(17:52):
is tight, your mind won't slowdown and peace feels far away.
And in those moments, it's easyto think something's wrong with
me.
But this song is your reminder.
Nothing is wrong with you.
You're just human in a momentthat needs grace.
(18:13):
God is not overwhelmed by what'soverwhelming you.
So as you listen to this songwhich we'll play at the very end
of this episode, don't just hearit.
Let it sit with you.
If you need to, close your eyes,sit still, replay it as many
times as you need to.
Or if you're driving, don'tdon't close your eyes, safety
(18:36):
first, saints.
Let this be your moment torelease the pressure, quiet the
noise, and remember that even inthe madness, you are still held.
Let's pray together.
God, you see us in our anxiousmoments.
You see the spiraling thoughts,the overthinking, the fear of
(18:59):
what might happen, and you arenot overwhelmed.
You are steady, you are present,you are near.
Help us remember that we don'thave to carry everything.
Teach us how to pause, how tobreathe, how to trust you in
real time.
(19:20):
Not when everything is perfect,but right here in the middle of
the mess.
Thank you for being calm when weare not.
We love you.
Amen.
Thank you for being here, myfriend.
If this episode spoke to you,please share it with someone who
(19:40):
needs a reminder.
You're not crazy, you're human,and God is still steady.
And don't forget to subscribe,follow wherever you're
listening, and also on myYouTube channel.
Find the Divine ShenanigansCommunity on School.
I am starting a daily Biblestudy that will eventually cover
the entire Bible, starting atthe very beginning of it all,
(20:02):
Genesis.
It's called Daily Shenanigans inScripture, and it's free and
will go live on May 1st, 2026.
Follow us also on Substack atDivine Shenanigans for a monthly
newsletter.
And if you want to support theshow, you can always fuel my
faith and caffeine at BuyMeACoffee slash Divine
(20:24):
Shenanigans.
Takes a lot of caffeine to bethis witty.
So take a deep breath.
Release the pressure.
God's got it, even when you feellike you don't.
Now, here's the premiere of oursong of the week, Grace in the
Madness by Brittany Lees fromBrittany Lees Worship and Words
(20:44):
YouTube channel.
Let it meet you right where youare.
God bless you, my friend.
SPEAKER_01 (20:52):
I cried in the car over something small.
A look at tone didn't matter atall.
My heart hit panic like a firealarm, and I couldn't tell truth
from the harm.
I replay words like a brokentape.
Turn every pause into a worstcase shape.
I build whole storms from a dropof rain.
(21:14):
Then ask you why I feel thisway.
I know I'm not seeing cleartonight.
But feelings are loud and theyfeel so right.
So have grace for theemotionally overreacted.
When my heart goes loud and mythoughts get dramatic.
(21:37):
When I'm spiraling fast overthings I imagine being in the
middle of it all.
(22:00):
But you don't overreact at all.
I take a silence and call itgoodbye.
Turn a delay until they don'tcare why.
I read between lines that werenever there.
Then carry the weight of iteverywhere.
I know this pattern, I've walkedit before.
(22:20):
Knocking on anxiety's familiardoor.
But somewhere deeper than allthis noise is a quieter truth in
your voice.
You don't rush to the worst inme.
You see the whole, not just whatI see.
(22:43):
So have grace for theemotionally overreactive.
When my heart goes loud and mythoughts get dramatic.
When I'm spiraling fast overthings, I imagine maybe here in
the middle of it all.
Have grace when I'm jumping toconclusions, writing stories
that just aren't true.
And I forget that your love'snot confusing.
(23:06):
Steady when I'm about to fall.
Yeah, I'm a mess, but you don'toverreact at all.
You don't flinch when I fallapart.
You don't shame my fragileheart.
You don't match my frantic pace.
(23:27):
You slow me down with patientgrace.
You're not startled by my fear.
You don't disappear when I needyou near.
Even when I make it bigger thanit is, you remind me who you are
in this.
Maybe I don't have to fix ittonight.
(23:49):
Maybe I can just sit in yourlife.
Have grace for the emotionallyoverreactive when my heart goes
loud and my thoughts getdramatic.
When I'm spiraling fast overthings, I imagine me here in the
middle of it all.
Have grace when I'm lost inconfusion.
(24:12):
Caught between fear andillusion.
Help me remember what's actuallytrue.
That I am safe here with you.
I might still feel it all alittle too much.
But I'm learning to trust thatyour love does in rush, and you
(24:35):
don't overreact, you just stay.
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