Devotional: Peace in the storm

"He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, 'Quiet! Be still!' Then the wind died down and it was completely calm." Mark 4:39

MESSAGE

Summer.

For some, the very word brings a smile. For others - a knot in the stomach.

The routines that hold everything together shift and stretch, and the familiar rhythm of ordinary days seems to disappear.

Instead there's more noise, more heat, more people, more demands - more of everything, everywhere, all at once.

It can feel like a storm that just won't die down, can't it?

Here's what strikes me about this story.

Jesus was in the boat, in the storm, asleep on a cushion.

Not because He didn't care - but because He knew who He was, and who held the storm.

The disciples were experienced fishermen, doing everything right, and still overwhelmed.

Sound familiar?

You can be doing everything right - the strategies, the planning, the pacing - and still find yourself bailing water.

Jesus didn't tell them off for waking Him.

He simply stood up and spoke: "Quiet! Be still!"

The same Jesus is in your boat this season.

He is not panicked by what overwhelms you - not the noise, the crowds, the expectations, or the exhaustion of holding it all together.

And sometimes, before He calms the storm around you, He wants to calm the storm within you.

POINT TO PONDER

When the waves rise this week, will you try to row harder - or will you turn to the One asleep on the cushion? What would "Quiet! Be still!" sound like spoken over your day today?

PRAYER

"Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that Jesus is in my boat - not watching from the shore. When the noise rises and the routine is gone and I feel I'm bailing water, remind me to turn to You first. Speak Your 'Quiet! Be still!' over my day and over my heart this season. Thank You that no storm is too much for You. In Jesus' name, Amen!"