One day, when Jesus and his disciples were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking over the boat. Jesus was asleep. Matthew tells the rest of the story this way, in his Gospel (Matthew 8:25-26):
The disciples went and woke him (Jesus), shouting, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.
There are many 'storms' in our world today – political storms, racial storms, economic storms, and relational storms. We also all have internal 'storms' – emotions, thoughts and feelings that rise up and overwhelm us at times. The prophet Nahum tells us that God has his way in the whirlwind and the storm – whatever their source may be (Nahum 1:3).
Thankfully, Jesus is present – in this world and in our lives. He is in our boat. We will not drown. He has the power to rebuke every wind and every wave coming against us. One word from him and there can be a 'great calm'. I love that word – 'calm'. It speaks of peace, rest, joy, serenity and tranquility.
One way to position ourselveves to know God's peace (true 'calm') is to learn to be still.
Abraham's son, Isaac, once went out into the field to 'meditate' (Genesis 24:63) – to be still and to focus his mind on God and his world. This was centuries before the time of Bhudda and the rise of Eastern meditation, as well as the modern-day mindfulness trend. The practice of meditation has its source in the Jewish roots of the Christian faith.
How can you develop daily rituals to help you experience the calm desires for you?
Prayer, Bible reading and stilness can help.
There are also a variey of web sites and phone apps that can assist us, creating natural ambience and/or guiding us in slowing down from the frantic pace of our lives. [Check out www.calm.com as an example (this is not a 'religious' site). I like their free phone app]
Whatever it takes, my prayer for you today is that you would see Jesus, that His words would speak powerfully into your world, and that you would know his peace and his calm deep in your heart and mind.