Matters of Faith

Mark 4:35-41 (NKJV)

“On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 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?” 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. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” my quiet time with the Lord in the mornings, as I read and study from the Holy Writ, recite scriptures, meditate, pray, and exercise, I hear the voice of the Lord in holistic fashion. Each aspect of worship serves in its own unique way reveals His presence and quiets the storms in my spirit and my life. 

During those quiet moments, when His voice is clear, His presence is felt, and the storms cease, when I experience an overwhelming warmth in my heart, the situations in my life may not change, but the calm that envelopes me gives me a sense of peace and an inner assurance that everything is going to be just fine. It’s hard to explain, since it isn’t always logical. But in those still, quiet moments, His voice whispers and I can hear Him clearly saying, “Peace be still!”

Life always has storms; one that has passed, one that is happening right now, or one that is coming. When the storm arose on the Sea of Galilee, His Disciples, fearful and scared, cried out, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” When you do not know the one who can calm raging storms with a word, you also don’t know the God who can just as easily calm the storms in your life with the same words, “Peace be still!” Astonished and amazed, His Disciples asked, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

What they did not know was that the peace of God is the key to making it through a storm. That peace is found in the pages of the Bible, not deeply buried in some secret place that you need a bulldozer or a pickax to find. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist or a college graduate. Just trust in the one who looked at the storm, spoke to the winds, and calmed the raging sea.

If you don’t have a time that you dedicate to spend with Him, a time when it’s just you and God, you are missing the peace that only He can give, and you will never know the kind of peace, what the Bible calls the “shalom” peace, that can weather any storm, even ferocious storms like the Disciples experienced.  

Truly, it is in those still, quiet moments that you can hear His voice whisper, speaking clearly to the storms in your life saying, “Peace be still!”

Be Blessed!

Rev. J. Loren Russell is the Clergy Officiant at the Evangelical Church of God and associate minister at Goodwill Baptist Church, both in the Bronx. He is the President/CEO of The JLR Company/J Loren R Consulting, LLC for Church Financial & Personal Strategic Consulting (718-328-8096). He writes this column (www.mattersoffaith.blog) and produces and host’s “Matters of Faith: The Radio Show” on Monday nights from 8:00 – 10:00 PM on The Matters of Faith YouTube channel (@mattersoffaith9525). Be sure to Friend, Like, and Share the column and the channel.  Email us at mattersoffaith.mof@gmail.com. Order your copy of Matters of Faith: The eBook at www.smashwords.com/books/view/993177.