“Peace, be
still"
With hurricane Dorian increasing in strength and changing direction with every weather forecast; you might be like me wondering if the decision to stay was a good one. For those of us who live in Florida, we are very familiar with the “hurricane season.” With a hurricane this size and strength might be causing a lot of anxiety. Dorian appears it will not only impact us in Florida but also Georgia and South Carolina. So we must be diligent and heed all the warnings and be prepared to move.
These are the words of Jesus: “When evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’” Mark 4:35-41 (ESV).
“Peace, be still” is the command that Jesus used to calm a nighttime storm on the Sea of Galilee. The passage says that Jesus rebuked the storm—in other words, He told it to calm down in much the same way that a teacher might tell a classroom full of unruly students to calm down. The disciples were awestruck as the wind and waves actually obeyed! The authority Jesus showed gave them a clue as to who He really was.
Novelist Charles Dudley Warner quipped that “everybody talks about the weather, but nobody ever does anything about it.” Well, Jesus can actually do something about it, and He is the only one who can.
When we read the account of Jesus’ saying “Peace, be still” today, we need to remember that Jesus is always in control of our circumstances, and, when we trust Him, He will calm the raging inside our souls. When we find ourselves raging and tossing and turning on the inside, Philippians 4:6–7 tells us what to do: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” While it is great to see the storm around us calm down, it is even more important that our souls are calm in the midst of the storm. God has not promised to bring peace to every storm, but He has promised to give us peace through any storm, even Hurricane Dorian, if we will trust Him to take care of us.
Jesus is our calm in the middle of the storm. Choose Peace – let him lead you into His Perfect Peace that passes all understanding. Let not your heart be troubles.
With hurricane Dorian increasing in strength and changing direction with every weather forecast; you might be like me wondering if the decision to stay was a good one. For those of us who live in Florida, we are very familiar with the “hurricane season.” With a hurricane this size and strength might be causing a lot of anxiety. Dorian appears it will not only impact us in Florida but also Georgia and South Carolina. So we must be diligent and heed all the warnings and be prepared to move.
These are the words of Jesus: “When evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’” Mark 4:35-41 (ESV).
“Peace, be still” is the command that Jesus used to calm a nighttime storm on the Sea of Galilee. The passage says that Jesus rebuked the storm—in other words, He told it to calm down in much the same way that a teacher might tell a classroom full of unruly students to calm down. The disciples were awestruck as the wind and waves actually obeyed! The authority Jesus showed gave them a clue as to who He really was.
Novelist Charles Dudley Warner quipped that “everybody talks about the weather, but nobody ever does anything about it.” Well, Jesus can actually do something about it, and He is the only one who can.
When we read the account of Jesus’ saying “Peace, be still” today, we need to remember that Jesus is always in control of our circumstances, and, when we trust Him, He will calm the raging inside our souls. When we find ourselves raging and tossing and turning on the inside, Philippians 4:6–7 tells us what to do: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” While it is great to see the storm around us calm down, it is even more important that our souls are calm in the midst of the storm. God has not promised to bring peace to every storm, but He has promised to give us peace through any storm, even Hurricane Dorian, if we will trust Him to take care of us.
Jesus is our calm in the middle of the storm. Choose Peace – let him lead you into His Perfect Peace that passes all understanding. Let not your heart be troubles.
I love this ole song we used to sing in our AME
Church Choir – Peace Be
Still!
Shalom –
Peace
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