And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7
This morning, at church, we had a speaker who told us a story of a ship he was on that became caught up in a vicious ocean storm. Now, I have always had a huge respect/fear for the ocean’s power so when someone mentions twenty-foot waves crashing over a boat, you bet they have my attention.
He described the massive waves, the thrashing winds, and the violent rocking of the boat. He and his men were being tossed around by the waves, many of the men heaving from motion sickness.
The men on board this unfortunate vessel were most definitely experiencing chaos, fear, and uncertainty as the violent waves raged around them and at them.
Finally, the command was made to let out the stabilizers. These are long strips of metal attached to the outer hull of the ship to reduce a ship’s roll due to wind or waves. Imagine these huge arms that come out from each side of the ship, the way we would put our arms out to keep our balance while on a tight rope.
So, the command rang out and the stabilizers were extended. The moment the stabilizers went out the boat completely righted itself and there was instant calm on that vessel.
Regaining their balance, their shouts quieting, the men began to breathe a sigh of relief. For a moment it felt almost as if the storm had passed, but as they looked out from their now peaceful vessel the reality was that the storm was continuing to rage full power all around them. But no longer was its force a threat to the souls on board.
Friend, this is how it is with Jesus. In Him, we have the greatest stabilizer ever and when we focus on Him rather than the storm, He calms us with His peace.
This life is full of storms and we never know when the waters might rise up to threaten our peace once again. And when those waves begin to pummel us and throw us off balance, we may find ourselves in a frantic struggle to keep our footing.
This is why we need Jesus to stabilize us.
With Jesus, though the storms may rage, our vessel remains stable which means we will are able to stay calm and make good decisions rather than being tossed to and fro while we search desperately for something to cling to.
When we focus on the storm it will have its way with us and we’ll soon lose our balance but when we remain in Christ and keep Him as our focus, we will find peace even in the middle of a storm.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
I would love to hear from you! Please leave a comment and let me know how Jesus is calming your storms.
And as always, if you would love to learn how you can break free from stress and anxiety while growing a deeper more intimate relationship with Jesus, you can schedule a free call with me here: https://reneewhitelifecoach.com/coaching/