Thursday, May 24, 2018

Mark 4:37-40 -- On Internal and External Calm

"And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
And he 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.
And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?"
Mark 4:37-40


In reading this, it seems natural to be afraid.  A storm comes, the waves are filling up the ship, which sounds very much like they were sinking.  And yet, Christ chastises them for being fearful.  Why?

Maybe it is because fear is always the wrong reaction.  When storms come, as they often do, and we feel like we are sinking, whether literally or symbolically, freaking out is never the solution. :)  Instead, in this story and in all cases, faith is the answer.

That's a tough thing, because it is very easy to freak out, and often quite hard to have faith, especially when we feel the ship going down.  But just like Christ rebuked the storm in this story, God can save us from the storms in our own lives, no matter how bad things seem.

It's a tough thing sometimes to experience a storm in life and not freak out, but our answer is the same as the answer here.  Instead of panicking, let us turn to God for a solution, and trust him to help us.  As we look to God, and have faith in him, he will grant us peace in the midst of trial, and help us stay calm and functional even in the face of fear.   And without that fear weighing us down and distracting us, God gives us the time and the space to deal with whatever we need to face and to take action instead of freezing up.

Today, let's turn to God during the challenges of life and remember that God can calm internal *and* external storms.  Let's have faith and, with God's help, do what needs to be done rather than freaking out... remembering that God always writes happy endings.  We just have to keep making the effort and turning the pages.  Things get better. :)

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