Jesus calms the storm
One evening, Jesus said to His disciples, “Let us cross to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and began rowing across the sea. All of a sudden, there was a storm, the waves began breaking over the boat and it was quickly filling up with water. The disciples were terrified, thinking that the boat was about to sink and they would all drown. They began to panic. While all this was happening, Jesus was in the back of the boat, with His head on a pillow, fast asleep. When the disciples saw this, they were bewildered. Why didn’t Jesus know what was happening? Why wasn’t He doing anything to save them? They were so worried that they shook Him and asked, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re about to drown?” Then Jesus woke up and ordered the wind and the waves to be quiet. Immediately, there was a great calm. Then, Jesus asked the disciples, “Why were you afraid? Do you not have faith and believe that I could save you?” The disciples were amazed and said to one another, “Who is this that even the wind and sea obey Him?”
Do you not have faith?
If we claim to have faith in God, why do we still panic so much when things go wrong in our lives? It takes a lot of courage to keep trusting and it is human nature to want to be in control of everything. So instead of letting Jesus take the steering wheel and guide us, we try to take matters into our own hands and then end up stuck in a dead end or crashing into something. When things don’t go the way that we had planned, we are tempted to ask God, “Why did you let that happen, Lord?” But we can never fully understand why God allows difficult situations to happen to us. It is impossible to know God’s ways with our limited human minds. There is one thing that we can do and that’s to have faith and trust in our hearts. We cannot rely on our brains to try to give us all the answers. Our Father knows us better than we know ourselves and everything He allows to happen in our lives is for our good. “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe, plans to give you a future full of hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
God never sleeps
There are times when we think that God is never going to answer our prayers, no matter how much we pray. It can feel like He is not paying any attention to us. So is he asleep? No! Our God never sleeps. During every moment of our lives, He is watching over us with great love and affection. Whenever we feel that God is not responding to our petitions, it’s not because He hasn’t heard us, it’s because He is busy working in our lives. He’s fixing our problems in unimaginable ways. If we are patient and keep praying then God will complete His work and with perfect timing our prayers will be answered in ways we might not imagine but better than anything we had ever hoped for. There’s no doubt that God will surpass all our expectations! “O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them.” (Psalm 40:5) So, the next time we feel that God is ignoring our problems we should remember that our protector never sleeps!
The Prince of Peace
Many people today suffer from depression and have issues with anxiety. Some people feel like there’s no point to life because their hearts are so troubled and distressed. They are trapped in a world of inner conflicts and misery. But, there is one person who can take away all our anxieties and worries, Jesus. He is the Prince of Peace and is the definition of true peace. “Peace I leave you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” (John 14:27) This inner peace that Jesus is offering us is not temporary; it’s eternal. Once we invite this peace into our lives, Jesus will take care of anything and everything that is bothering us, however big or small. There’s no need for us to be weighed down with worry and anxiety when Jesus is eagerly waiting to lavish upon us His everlasting peace. “Let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace.” (Colossians 3:15)
Written by Rosemary Joy