Peace Be Still..

Mark 4: 36 - 41 (KJV) And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. 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? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? As a child, I adored all storms. Thunderstorms, blizzards, wind, rain and hail. The wilder the weather, the more excited I would become. A thunderstorm will find me with my face plastered against my window as I watch lightning shoot across the sky. Even I have my limits however and in June of 1997 while traveling through Michigan, without warning, I was face to face with the awesome destructive power of a tornado that blew through the community, injuring several people and destroying property and land. As I listened to the radio, I definitely was not excited by this storm, every hair on my body stood on end as this strange weather pattern blew through the town I was visiting. Like this tornado, without a warning, chaos hits our families, our work places and our churches. Unemployment hits, children suddenly are in trouble with the law, a severe illness or sudden death strikes with lightning speed. Wars and acts of terrorism. Awful truth coming to the light within a local congregation that threatens to tear the church apart. Terrible storms that are utterly beyond our ability to control and we are caught up in the vortex, being tossed like ragdolls, bruised and tattered by emotional debris as it rips against our heart. What can we do? We can cry out to the Lord of the heavens, he who calmed the sea. He who created the universe out of chaos of nothingness (Genesis 1:2). We do not need to fear, we only need to ask, for we live on the other side of cross and the cross is our assurance of His great love for us. He will calm the seas in our lives, he will bring the emotional chaos to a place of peace, if we cry out to him. Although the physical storms of our lives may rage around us still, we can be at peace in the center of the storm, safe from harm to our spirits, if we cling to the Lord of Creation. Lord Jesus, who can say to your storm, "Peace, be still."