Peace, be Still

Peace, be Still

See the little town of Westerly right smack in the middle of the Weather Channel storm track?  Yep, that’s my town. The scenario looks pretty daunting, but if the satellite image zoomed in at that moment, you’d see me riding my bike along the ocean with a big smile.
Wait… what?

Sunday morning I woke to the expected howling winds and pelting rains of Henri’s approach.  The walls shuddered and groaned as our lights flickered and went dark.  No power. Just another page from the New England coastal storm playbook.  Then something truly amazing happened…

The wind stopped.

All was quiet.   

Moments later, bright rays of sunshine pierced the angry sky, quickly clearing into a heavenly blue expanse with puffy white clouds.  I hopped on my bike and pedaled down to the coast.  Other bikers, joggers and dog walkers had the same idea.  Families gathered on porches and took pictures by the sea; children played in puddles and waved fallen branches in the air.  We experienced the eye of the storm.  Complete peace amidst the fury.  

2,000 years ago the disciples of Jesus went through a similar situation.  Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell of an occasion when a violent squall threatened to sink their boat and drown them.  Jesus had actually fallen asleep in the stern, but the disciples feared for their lives.  Terrified, they woke Jesus.  He arose and commanded: 

“Peace… be still.”

The wind stopped. 

All was quiet. 

It’s interesting that even as the disciples followed Jesus, they struggled with very real human fear.  They were literally in a boat with the Son of God!  Yet, at that moment, they feared the storm more than they trusted Him.  

They probably wondered, how could Jesus be asleep? Isn’t He aware of the storm?  But that may be just a further indication of His authority over everything.  Jesus was at total peace amidst the fury.  Nothing takes Him by surprise or rocks His boat.  

These days many storms surround us.  If we dare turn on the news, we’ll find the world is a little more turbulent than the day before.  Political chaos, international unrest, natural disasters… you name it.  We may not understand what’s going on, but we shouldn’t panic.  God isn’t unaware.  He’s got this.  Our focus shouldn’t be on how big the storms are, but how big God is.

Peace, be still.

Isaiah 43:2 - When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.  When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.

- Ron Reid

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