Be Still

Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”
When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.
Mark 4:38-39 NLT

I love walking the beach. I've witnessed its turbulence in a thunderstorm when the wind was so strong the birds wouldn't fly, and I've absorbed its tranquility when it was so calm I could barely discern the lapping of the tide at water's edge. Have you ever seen it when it looks like the proverbial sea of glass? It's not very often. 

I know how fierce the water can be in a storm when I'm standing on dry ground. And although I will walk the beach in any kind of weather, being on a boat is a whole 'nother story! Can you imagine that boat being tossed about to the point that veteran fishermen believed they were going to die on the water? "Jesus, don't You care...?"

I'm reminded that our lives are very like this story. We're walking along, heading for our destination, when all of a sudden, we're hit with one of the many storms of life. We try to bail water, trim sails, pull anchor - you name it, we're trying it, just to keep ourselves afloat. And we're already tired because it's nighttime and we were  going to rest on this trip. We may not want to bother Jesus, because we think He's asleep. We don't want to bother Him because He just took care of all of those other people. And then, when we get to the end of our own ability and we are unable to do for ourselves, and it seems as though everyone and everything is against us, we cry out, "Jesus, don't You care...?"

And His answer to us is the same as it was to the waves on the sea, “Silence! Be still!” So the wind of our whine should stop suddenly, so that there will be great calm. Why? Because Psalm 37:7 reads, Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.

Be still in the presence of the Lord. When the storms of life hit you broadside - Be still in the presence of the Lord. When the waves are crashing in on you - Be still in the presence of the Lord. When the evil people are scheming, Be still in the presence of the Lord. In HIS presence...now that's a GREAT calm.

Prayer:

Father,
         We will come into Your presence with singing, worshiping at the Throne of God, knowing that You are the Calmer of the storm. Help us to show others Your calm. In Jesus' Name we pray. AMEN