PEACE IN THE STORM

I’ve had a few reasons to be working on peace lately. Things are a bit stormy.

Because of that, I signed up for a scripture plan about peace from a Bible App, which included an excellent blog about biblical peace.

I acknowledge that I am fighting for peace in a storm, which is a lot different than peace from the storm.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I think that it is also important that to me that I am able to recognize that I am struggling for peace from within my faith – from the vantagepoint of a long-term walk in faith and obedience. I am not struggling for peace apart from my faith or without faith. In other words, the storm might be likened to a dark room where I know I have left my glasses. The glasses are there, I’ve just lost connection to them. So, I reach out, rummage in drawers, making the effort to reach for them, because I know they are there, in the room.

God’s peace is like that. Even when I feel like I have lost connection to it, I know it is there. The storm may make it feel difficult to put my hand on it, but I have no doubt that it exists because I’ve seen and fought against storms in life (a favorite tool of Satan) before.

 It is important to me that I not react like the disciples did, as we read in Mark 4:37-39 [NKJV] 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" 39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

The disciples forgot that they were in the storm with the Storm Breaker Himself – the one who spoke the wind, water and waves into being.

We, sweet sisters, would do well to keep our minds focused on Who is with us, not matter how wildly the choppy waters beat against the boat or how boisterous the wind gets.

And, here’s the thing: if you’ve been a follower of Jesus for any length of time, you are likely pretty experienced in weathering storms that test your resolve and focus. We develop stronger faith, more enduring peace and greater love when we fight for it from within a stormy time.

 Peace and every other character quality of God that we are to have and to show, like all the fruit of the Spirit that we are to be growing, is always there, in the Spirit, for us to access. In the same way that Jesus is always in the boat with us during the storms.

So, like my glasses in the dark room, I might have to work to get my hands on them. The fact that it takes effort to do so does not indicate weakness. It indicates resolve. It indicates an opportunity for building additional strength and endurance – like building a muscle.  

Like any muscle that we are trying to build, there comes a time when we have to add more weight to continue to build your muscles and your strength. Stormy times build our connection to the peace of God. And it is God’s peace we are seeking.

Philippians 4:6-7 [NIV] 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The storms come to our lives to build our peace muscles (or maybe faith or love or all three). When we are faced with a storm, we may find that we have to work harder and depend on God more. We may have to add more prayer and meditation time. Maybe some fasting. We may have to boost our time in scripture and in connecting to like-minded friends who can be our “spotter” in the spiritual weight room.  

Even Peter, who had the faith to step out of the boat amid a storm, found that he later needed to grab onto Jesus to survive. His faith was not yet strong enough, though it existed. By the very fact that he took those steps out on the water (we don’t know how many steps he took), he was building his faith. Later, he weathered the storm of persecution and death with his faith firmly intact.

So, when we are in a time of peace – in the sunshine between storms – we do need to be preparing for the next storm – the next muscle-building opportunity – by connecting to the Peace-giver.

We are in the fight of our lives as Christians every day. Mostly against our own human nature, but sometimes in all out hand-to-hand combat with Satan and his minions.  It is little wonder that God offers us these times to strengthen our muscles and build them for the next storm.  

I’m still not a fan of the storm, but I am grateful for them because I know they are allowed by God for the very purpose of strengthening me – building my spiritual muscle. Well, at least I am working on my gratitude muscle along with my peace muscle in this particular storm.

How about you, sweet sister? What spiritual muscle(s) are you building at this time in your life?

I welcome your comments and questions. You can write me in the comment  section or any time at Nancy@dynamicchristianministries.org