Calm Waters
By Paris Renae
He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. Luke 8:24b NIV
Sometimes it seems like life is one storm front after another. It becomes the norm. If it’s not directly us, it’s someone dear. Horizons loom and we take a deep breath.
But there are those times, almost foreign, where sunny blue sky breaks through and for all our looking we sense only a peace, no unrest. Why is it when those times come we let our minds go to: ‘what’s going to happen next?’
What if calm waters were the norm and stormy times were foreign? We smile and think ‘Yeah, right’. But I think that is where God wants our souls to rest. To be so sure of His faithfulness, abiding love, eternal care that when all goes crazy in our world, we feel gently lapping waves on our feet as we walk hand in hand with Him.
It’s possible. We’ve been there. Ever had the worst-case scenario happen and tell a friend about it later, relating how calm you were? The time my car did a 180 on the slick highway and I found myself idling facing traffic the wrong way. All three lanes of cars were stopped and lined up perfectly. I turned around and drove on – calm waters.
But what about the times that aren’t momentary? The times where diagnosis is our reality, or betrayal is our companion, or loss leaves us lost.
Oh, friend, in this world there will always be raging waters, what we need to find is the One who can calm them with a word. We aren’t meant to live with adrenalin pulsing – if we were, then the reports about stress and its devastating effects on our health wouldn’t be out there.
But how to live in calm amidst the chaos? One trusting step at a time. Focusing not on tubes and beeping machines, divorce papers, or dwindling bank accounts. They are there and they must be dealt with, but they don’t have to steal our peace.
Daily, daily in His Word, laying our cares out to Him, surrounding ourselves with those who believe – and always, always remembering this isn’t it – eternity has no storms, only calm waters.
Father, Help us trust not only when all seems well but in those nail-biter times, too. Be our assurance in all circumstances – may Your Spirit calm ours with a peace that does pass all understanding. Guard our hearts and minds and let our constant companion be the truth of our Savior and Your ever present help in trouble. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
For more encouragement, visit Paris at parisrenae.com
© 2021 by Paris Renae. All rights reserved.
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Originally published Tuesday, 02 May 2023.
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