Peace Speaker...

"And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm."

Mark 4:39 (KJV)

     I love the weather here in the Northwest. Not only do we have four very distinct seasons, but within each of those seasons are varying weather patterns. This gives us very diverse and sometimes, surprising climate changes.

     Today was a perfect example. I woke up to beautiful sunny skies and cool temperatures. Rather mild for a November morning. I went about my morning activities and around 2 pm went out to run some errands. As I left the grocery store and headed for home, the skies had become dark and gray, the wind was howling and pushing against my car and the rain had begun to fall. Cold, icy, pellets of rain.

     I found myself remembering a song I had sung years ago written by Geron and Becky Davis. It begins....

It was such a lovely day.
  The sun was shining bright.
The gentle winds were blowing my way
Not a storm cloud in sight.
Then suddenly without warning
A storm surrounded my life....

     I began to reflect on the storms I have withstood in my life and how so many of them seem to come out of nowhere. Does that ever happen to you? Everything seems to be going just great and suddenly...the storm blows in!

A car repair
A broken relationship
A foreclosure notice 
A layoff notice
A dreaded diagnosis

     Storms come in all shapes and sizes. They come in the dead of night, or the light of day. The winds blow, the waves crash, the trees fall. Is it the suddenness of the storm or the severity of the storm that knocks us down? Not sure it matters either way...I think what matters is what we do in the storm.

Are you in a storm? 

     I mentioned before that I hate storms. As a young child and teen, I used to run to my parents or my sister's room at night when a storm hit. If I was home alone I would huddle somewhere clutching a pillow until the storm passed.  

shaking...
frightened...
alone...

     Now, my daughter hates storms. Though she doesn't like the thunder or lightening, what really frightens her is the wind. The thunderstorms we have in the Northwest aren't nearly as severe as the ones we can have in the south. So, sometimes I think it's silly that she gets frightened. But, I guess it doesn't really matter how severe the storm is to me...it's how severe it is to her. And I think that's true of any storm we face. Your storm is not my storm and shouldn't be measured by my fears and anxieties. The real question is...

How do we handle our storm?
Who do we run to?
Where do we find our peace?

(Sorry, again...that was three questions!)
Let's continue the song....

But even in the storm
I could feel the calm 
And here's the reason why...
I know the Peace Speaker
I know Him by name.
I know the Peace Speaker
He controls the winds and waves
When He says "Peace, be still"
They have to obey
I'm glad I know the Peace Speaker
Yes, I know Him by name.

     Jesus...our Peace Speaker...the one who not only created the wind and the waves, but controls the wind and the waves. With those three little words, "Peace, be still"... all is calm. All our fears can be released, all our anxieties can be soothed, all our worries can be set aside with confidence. 

But will we let them?

     When Jesus spoke these words, He and His disciples were on a boat crossing the sea. A huge storm arose and the disciples were frightened, worried and anxious. Jesus, however, was down below sleeping....peacefully!

No fears
No worries
No anxieties

     "Well, of course", you say, "He had nothing to be fearful, worried or anxious about."   Yes, that's true...but, He speaks peace to my storm. And all He has to do is say, "Peace, be still" and my fears and worries and anxieties have to obey!

     Unfortunately, I have to admit that there are many storms that have come my way when I didn't "wake up Jesus" so to speak. I have spent too many storms huddled in a corner clutching a pilow. Or trying to toss things overboard to lighten the boat. Or blaming someone else for the storm. I've even felt ashamed when others said my storm was no big deal. When all I really need to do is call out to Jesus.

So, are you in a storm? 

Don't huddle in a corner. Don't toss things overboard. Don't blame someone else for the storm. Don't let others tell you your storm is no big deal. Call out to Jesus...let Him speak peace to your storm.

     I love how the Amplified Bible states this...

"And He arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Hush now! Be still (muzzled)! And the wind ceased (sank to rest as if exhausted by its beating) and there was [immediately] a great calm (a perfect peacefulness)."

Mark 4:39

     The storm was muzzled...the winds exhausted from the beating of His spoken word...and the calm was immediate! The result? A perfect peacefullness...how could you have anything less than a perfect peacefulness from the perfect...

Peace Speaker

(Thank you, Geron and Becky, for writing this beautiful song)