Jesus calms the Storm. Mark 4:35-4:
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” 39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
School is scary.
Thinking about starting school is even worse for me.
I was really scared about this next year. It’s going to be my junior year. I’ve heard it’s basically the hardest year of high school academically, and socially too. Also, it’s the last year that colleges look at on applications. So there’s a lot riding on it. And it’s frightening.
In life, it’s so easy to get caught up in everything that is happening. There are so many things that demand our attention, and in return, they mostly give us stress and weariness. In the midst of things, it’s equally as easy to forget that peace exists. Sometimes,we can feel temporary peace because we don’t think about the complete fulfillment as a possible solution for us.
But God is so powerful that He didn’t leave us alone to have to scramble for a quiet moment. He is peace. He is the peace that we need. He is the peace that comes to us when we need it. And recently, that has become really apparent to me.
I’ve been praying all summer that the Lord will be with me this school year to get me through my academics and my harder classes. Then I began thinking of all the things besides school that I need to think about like my friends, my family, my extracurriculars, and my time with God. It seemed like so much to me.
After a week of doing my summer assignments and becoming tired of praying the same thing over and over, I felt tired, bored almost. Then I remembered the story of Jesus calming the storm. It’s a story that I’ve grown up with and known since I was a kid, but now hold a new meaning to me. It paints such a glorious picture of God’s power. In that moment, I felt a wave of peace wash over me and I felt like I better understood the reason for this story. Overthinking and obsessing over things in our lives is useless if we don’t use that focus to find an answer.
The answer is the Lord. He is almighty and powerful. Jesus’ action was so astounding that the disciples were afraid. The difference from the huge storm to the clear water was so drastic that they were left awestruck. That is the power that the Lord has and that can be at work in our lives as well.
Later, in Jesus’ last moment before his crucifixion He told his disciples, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). How amazing is it to know that all you are stressing over, is in God’s control? He calmed the storms of an ocean, and He can do much more than that for you too.
He longs for us to have peace with the world and with ourselves so that our time may not be filled with our nervous thoughts, but may be used for God’s kingdom. I believe we must ultimately have peace with ourselves so we can focus on God.
That’s exactly where I was having my struggle. I filled my time with thoughts of school and friendships, and even though I spent thinking of God too, it wasn’t as much of a connection because I allowed those worldly things to get in the way.
What I’m trying to say is this: Don’t allow yourself to be overcome with the weight of your worldly problems because to God, they are minuscule. Pray for peace and comfort in the time of your storms and then follow through by looking to feel His peaceful presence. Now use the joy your heart has found through this, and give back to the one who helped you. Focus on what God wants and trust Him with the rest because if you are working for God, then He will see that the test is taken care of to allow you to keep working.
John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Finding My True Reality 