And There Was Great Calm

Mark‬ ‭4:36-39‬ ‭- Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. ... And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

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I was out for an early morning walk today. Breezy, warm, damp. Like spring. Fall colors, leaves gently falling, pink sunrise, blue skies, wispy clouds, Canadian geese honks. Glorious.

I began to worship God as I walked. For some reason the thought of praising God in the storm came to mind. It had nothing to do with Hurricane Matthew either! That thought came later in my deeper thoughts! 

Storms, literal and internal. I remembered Jesus and His disciples in the boat on the Sea of Galilee. Then there's Mary, Martha ... Lazarus. And the disciples who faced times in prison for their Lord. And the men and women of the Bible who underwent hardship in their lives and knew not why. 

This is us! We all will go through something(s) in our lives. We can have storms as real and big and life threatening as Hurricane Matthew or we can just be going through internal , or closer to home distress. So often we hear someone say, I can't imagine not having Christ in my life during these times. 

Jesus is the only one who will be our shelter in the storms of life. It's sad that people sometimes only call out to Him during these times instead of calling out to Him every day. In God we boast all day long, and praise Your name forever. (Psalm ‭44:8‬)

We are told to praise Him in the storm and we are to try to avoid shaking our fist at God and asking, Why am I going through this, why me? We are to look to Him and say, Lord, thank You for this storm and for what You are doing in me. Storms come to strengthen us in our faith. Those who recognize God in the storm will realize God has brought them through. Without trust in Him we will not have His peace. 

Lord, let us maintain our peace in storms of life. Keep us focused on You who calmed the sea for Your disciples. You are an amazing God. Thank You for who You are and for how You care. You want our faith to grow. 

Mark‬ ‭4:40-41‬ - But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

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