\u201cThat day when evening came, He said to His disciples. \u2018Let us go to the other side.\u2019 Leaving the crowd behind, they took Him along just as He was, in the boat. There were other boats with Him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke Him and said to Him, \u2018Teacher, don\u2019t You care if we drown?\u2019 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, \u2018Peace! Be still!\u2019 Then the waves died down and it was completely calm. He then said to His disciples, \u2018Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?\u2019\u201d (Mark 4:35-40)<\/p>\n
There are at least two ways Jesus miraculously brings peace. In this story, He stood, rebuked the wind and said: \u201cPeace! Be still!\u201d The surrounding nature obeyed Him\u2026 bringing astonishment to the frightened disciples. \u201cWho is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!\u201d (Mark 4:41)<\/p>\n
God has ability to say: \u201cPeace! Be still!\u201d to any of our storms\u2026 tragedy, sickness, conflict, loss… I imagine we have all experienced God\u2019s power to change circumstances and bring His \u2018shalom.\u2019 Like the disciples, we marvel and say: \u201cWho is this with such authority? Thank You for Your mercy! Thank You for bringing peace!\u201d<\/p>\n
But there is another miracle Jesus often chooses. \u201cPeace I leave with 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 be afraid.\u201d (John 14:27) Perhaps their lack of faith was a factor, but Jesus could have performed a different miracle on the Sea of Galilee.<\/p>\n
Jesus had been sleeping during the storm. His heart was not troubled and He was not afraid when His friends woke Him. If God had willed, Jesus could have spoken to His disciples instead of the storm: \u201cHere \u2013 receive My \u2018shalom.\u2019 Now, don\u2019t let your hearts be troubled\u2026 and quit being afraid. We\u2019ve got a busy day tomorrow\u2026 why don\u2019t you lie down and get some sleep?\u201d<\/p>\n
I probably pray most for exterior peace\u2026 but Jesus also has authority over the interior. I would rather the storm calm and problems go away while Jesus knows His inner peace is more than sufficient to help me endure and conquer any chaos.<\/p>\n
If Jesus gives me His peace, I need to obey His words: \u201cDon\u2019t let your heart be troubled and don\u2019t be afraid.\u201d Someone might say: \u201cThat is impossible!\u201d True, by ourselves\u2026 but we\u2019re talking about the supernatural. Jesus\u2019 peace is not like the world\u2019s\u2026 and it does not come from us. Jesus simply wants us to know He possesses this power. He wants us to receive His gift and live accordingly. With child-like faith and with His grace, we can do it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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.\u201d John 16:33<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.\u201d Philippians 4:6-7<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cThat day when evening came, He said to His disciples. \u2018Let us go to the other side.\u2019 Leaving the crowd behind, they took Him along just as He was, in the boat. There were other boats with Him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat so that it was nearly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-perseverence"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3254"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3256,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3254\/revisions\/3256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}