When the storms of life are raging, stand by me;
when the storms of life are raging, stand by me.
When the world is tossing me
like a ship upon the sea,
thou who rulest wind and water,
stand by me.
~Charles Albert Tindley~
Excerpt from a journal entry: Friday, Oct 14, 2022, 6:00 a.m.
I’m at peace this morning. I love this feeling. Except it’s not a feeling, really. It’s a state. A state of being.
It’s difficult to put together the right words to describe being “at peace.” But the image I have in mind is an unpredictable ocean whose surface is undisturbed.
Not so the night before. The night before, those same waters were stirred up from the depths and buffeted harshly by outside forces, frothing into magnificent, towering, angry waves.
And then, peace.
That same angry ocean the next morning is as smooth and still as a pane of glass. It seems as though I could walk across it without a care.
Seagulls coast overhead, breezing along on gentle currents of air invisible to the naked eye.
The skies are crystal blue, the sun radiant with ;ight and warmth.
Last night a tempest raged in my soul, threatening to pull me down beneath the surface and drown me.
But this morning I am completely at peace.
It is well. It is well. With my soul.
And [Jesus] got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
(Mark 4:39-40)
Pondering:
- How do you tend to react when a sudden “storm” hits your life out of nowhere?
- What has been your relationship with God and faith when your life is out of your hands?
- Do you have trouble turning to God in times of trouble? If so, why?
- How can you care for yourself spiritually and emotionally when a stressful season or situation overtakes you?
- Do you tend to fight your battles alone and keep your problems to yourself, or do you reach out to friends or family for support?
May faith be yours, especially in times of unrest.
