Peace Be Still!

And there arose a great storm of wind,

and the waves beat into the ship, so that

it was now full. And he (Jesus) was in the

hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow:

and they awake him, and say unto him,

Master, carest thou not that we perish?

And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and

said unto the sea Peace, be still. And the

wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

                         Mark 4:37-39  KJV

     Hail, wind, rain—last night’s mixture of the wonderful and scary brought much needed moisture to our drought stricken Texas soil. As I stood inside the French door and dodged the pea-sized hail that bounced under the deck covering and hit the glass panes, I thought about the mixture of good and bad that accompanies such a storm.

     Looking outside this morning, I can see the wonderfully wet soil, a rain-washed automobile and clean green grass sparkling in the glow of the garage security light. The scary stuff passed leaving behind chaos for some who have broken windshields, power outages and fallen trees but  for others— refreshment of the land and the spirit.

     When I close my eyes and allow my mind to play the video of Mark 4, I feel the emotions of that storm. While Jesus rested peacefully “on a pillow”, the disciples fretted and fumed until they could stand it no longer. Finally, they went to the back part of the ship and awakened Jesus. Master, don’t you care that we are about to drown? Jesus gave stern orders to the wind and spoke to the sea and calm followed.

     The disciples were astonished—not only astonished but, we learn in verse forty-one that, they feared exceedingly. Because they did not yet understand that Jesus is the Son of God, they feared in the storm, and they feared in the calm.

     I thought about the storms that have at times shattered the peace in my own life. Some were great storms that brought hail assaulting not only the physical but my spiritual well being. Some were storms that passed quickly—others dragged on for years or ended in great loss. At times I doubted that the storm would pass or that I would make it safely through. I feared!

     Yet in every storm, I knew that in spite of the mixture of life’s wonderful and scary, in spite of my anguish and fear and even in spite of the circumstantial evidence, that all I had to do was call on Jesus to speak those precious words to my troubled spirit—Peace be still.

     If the storms of life are assailing you, if you think no one cares, if you are filled with fear and dread, remember Jesus. He can calm your fears as He walks through the pages of your life and brings refreshment to your troubled soul. Allow Him in, let Him speak to you—Peace be still!