Jesus walked on this earth and performed many miracles and taught many lessons. One of the great miracles he performed, then used to teach us lessons was calming the great storm.
This is in Matthew 8:23-27.
23 And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.
24 And, behold, there arose a great moving in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves; but he was asleep.
25 And his disciples came to him and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us; we perish.
26 And he said unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then, awake, he rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
27 But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him!
So the highlights are there is a great storm. The disciples are scared to death. Jesus is fast asleep. He is not worried. When they asked for his help, he spoke with authority and the winds and waves stopped the relentless beating of the ship. A great calm came over the sea. They were amazed.
Thoughts:
I love how peace came over the storm and peace spread and settled the disciples as well. The peace of God comes and we can rest in His peace even when the world may be in chaos.
I heard a story once about a contest that asked for artists to paint a picture of what peace means. Many artists painted beautiful serene scenes of sunsets, nature, etc. But the painting that won depicted a huge storm with huge waves crashing against a high cliff wall. In the middle of the cliff was a bird nest perched on a small ledge. A mother bird sat carefully covering her young babies in the nest. That is peace. Knowing we are cared for even when storms are raging.
Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
We do not have to understand everything. We might want to and we might like to understand all things, but only God really understands. We may be able to walk right through a situation with God's peace when others may fall, cry, fear and give in to the crashing waves. God's peace carries us and we only have to trust Him. There have been times that I really didn't know what was going to happen and the only thing I could do was trust the Lord. I knew He was faithful and He promised peace. You may be going through tough situations, but when we hold on to His peace, we can walk on.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of strength and of love and of a sound mind(temperance).
God does not want us to be fearful. He gives us strength, love and a sound mind. One version interprets that as 'temperance.' Temperance is part of the fruit of the Spirit. Temperance is: moderation or self-restraint in action, statement, etc.; self-control.
God does not give us fear. He conquers fear and replaces it with strength, love and peace. He gives us the ability to maintain self-control and make a choice about how we respond.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
He left peace here for us to enjoy and trust. It is not a peace that comes from the world around us. The world holds uncertainty and troubles. But Jesus said to not let our hearts be troubled or afraid. We make a choice here to be afraid or troubled or to live in the peace of God. We can choose to let God's peace flood through our lives and lean on Him. We can respond to the peace He gives. We do not have to allow fear and worry to dominate our lives.
Questions:
Do I allow fear and worry to control me?
Do I really trust God enough to allow Him to give me the peace I need?
What storm do I face that Jesus has spoke peace and I need to rest in His peace?
Pray for God's peace to overwhelm and remove the fear.
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