Be Still

Matthew clung to the mast, sick with fear. He was no sailor, but it was obvious even to his landlubber’s eye that this was no ordinary storm. The wind! It had swept in with furious force out of nowhere. The waves were no longer gentle ripples, but towering crests of seawater which tossed the little boat every which way, and filled it with crash after crash of water. Surely this was an attack by evil spirits! Surely the boat would sink and they would be drowned, every one of them! Oh, why had the Teacher ever said for them to cross the lake?! Where was the Teacher, anyway? Did he not care that they were perishing? Out of the corner of his eye, Matthew noticed Peter in the back of the boat, shaking someone lying on a pillow. Who could possibly be sleeping at a time like this? To his astonishment, Matthew realized it was the Teacher! Despite the pitching and rolling of the boat, the Teacher rose to his feet with effortless balance. Somehow, through the terrific noise of the storm, Matthew heard the Teacher call out, “Peace! Be still!” 

    In the blink of an eye, everything changed. The wind vanished. The sea went completely flat. The boat didn’t even rock. The only noise to be heard was the sound of the men’s ragged breathing. Every eye was riveted to the One who had just ordered the storm to stop. Finally, the silence was broken by the whispered words, “Who can this be? Even the winds and the sea obey him!”

           Who indeed? What the disciples were just discovering, we already know: their Teacher, and ours, is none other than Jesus Christ, the Son of God. An ordinary man can’t order the weather around. Jesus, the Creator of heaven and earth, can. An ordinary man trembles with fear in the face of impending disaster. Jesus fears nothing.

I don’t speak Greek, but I looked up the meaning of the Greek words Jesus used when He said, “Peace! Be still!” What I found out was extremely surprising to me. The first word, “Peace”, is the Greek siopao (see-o-pah-o). It means “hush, keep silent, don’t speak, hold your peace”. It is a completely different word than the one normally translated as peace (eirene), such as in the Fruits of the Spirit. The Greek word for “Be still”, is phimoo (fee-mo’-oo). It means - get this - “to muzzle”! I have a hunch that if we talked to our siblings this way, our parents would not approve! Jesus was rebuking, not soothing. “Hush - no more out of you! Put a muzzle on it!” With His word, the victory was won. The enemy, also known as the Prince of the Power of the Air (Eph. 2:2), is no match for the Prince of Peace (Is. 9:6).

So what storms are whirling around you? Is the little boat known as your life being battered by waves of confusion or ill tidings? Are you being capsized by out-of-control emotions or tipped over by circumstances? Remember who is in you! Jesus Christ Himself, your King and Teacher. He is confident, fearless, free from chaos, and immovable, and that is the life He wants to live in and through you! But so often, we don’t live that way. We cling to the mast, having more faith in the enemy to conquer us than in our Lord to rescue us.

There’s a line in a wonderful old hymn that reads, “Be still my soul! the waves and winds still know, His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below”. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His word carries just as much authority today as it did in the days of old. When the waves and winds try to get us off course, we can tell them “Hush!” in Jesus’ name, and they must obey. “The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” (Ex. 14:14)

 

Is it not He who set our course? Jesus directed the disciples to cross the lake, fully aware of the storm to come. He knows that we, too, will experience storms. But storms are a stage that we may see Him for who He is, that we may know Him at a whole new level. 

Be still, and know that I am God:

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

(Ps. 46:10)

Sipping...

I think sipping was invented by tea.

Recently, I've been making tea from mint I planted in our very own garden. I drop a few of the dried leaves into the thermos or mug, pour in steaming hot water from the kettle, and add a little honey. After a few minutes, the flavour has diffused, and it's ready to drink.

It's still too hot to gulp down - what an unromantic word, gulp - so I wrap my hands around the warm mug and smell the fragrant steam. And slowly, I sip. Time seems to slow down. My eyes focus somewhere afar off as my thoughts transport themselves to more distant realms. I think of dear friends... Kristen, Nicole, Ervina, and others, who take great delight in a lovely cup of tea.

My tea is cooling steadily, but still I sip slowly. If I were to tip the cup and drain it all at once, the leaves would swoop into my mouth instead of staying at the bottom of the cup where they belong. I feel kinship with countless people, who, from ancient times and diverse cultures made and drank tea in much the same way as I have. Billions of people who have taken a moment to pause, cup in hand, to rest, to consider, to remember, to breathe a prayer of thankfulness for warmth and life. I'm grateful to be alive.

And I take another sip.

Thank You, Jesus.

Publishing...

I've been considering what the purpose of having a blog is. This is what I keep coming to: Psalm 26:7

That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.

That is the standard I want to hold my posts to: that they would not be about me, but about Jesus Christ. Not to show off my thoughts or whatever writing skills I have, but to publish what God is doing. If what I write points to how glorious and awesome and beautiful He is, then I will count my efforts not wasted.

Only one life, 'twill soon be past;
Only what's done for Christ will last. 
(C.T. Studd)

Kenton

Can you believe it? As of 12:25 MST, October 29, 2012, my brother is a dad! Kenton weighed in at 7 pounds even and 20 inches long. He has a bit of light brown hair. Good job, Hannah!

 Chris & Kenton

I love the fact that he was born on the 29th - if you've ever heard Eric Ludy talk about Job 29 you know why. What I am even more excited about it that he did not come early as some had feared... praise God. The name Kenton means "royal town" or "royal possession", and as far as I'm concerned he belongs to the King from the very get-go. Please continue to pray for Chris and Hannah. The enemy still wants to speak defeat over their lives and marriage, but as saints we can stand in the gap with victorious faith in our Almighty God.

Quick Quote

"Everything will be okay in the end. If it is not okay, then it's not the end." - Paolo Coelho

The Joy of Salvation

    Avigail took a deep breath. This was it. This was her last hope, their only chance. If this didn’t work, all was lost. Slowly, carefully, she tipped her jar of oil, the only possession she had. Reuven and Benaiah, her two sons, watched in silence as she poured. They knew what was at stake. The oil was flowing, a steady stream disappearing into the much larger vessel. Avigail’s hand started to shake, making the stream of oil quiver. The little jar should’ve been emptied by now, but the oil was still flowing. The nature of the silence abruptly shifted from expectant to shocked as they all realized what was happening. The oil was not stopping! Suddenly, Benaiah cried out, “Mama! It’s going to spill over!” “Quick!”, Avigail called. “Another jar!” Reuven grabbed one of the dozens of vessels they had borrowed from their neighbors. Avigail filled that one too, and the next one, and the next. Jar after jar, and the oil just kept coming. Not until the very last jar was filled to the top did the oil cease. “We’re saved!” Avigail cried. “The LORD has saved us!” Because of this oil, their debt would be paid. Her sons would not be slaves. They were free! What joy!
    Have you ever known the joy of salvation? I remember the hour I first believed. I remember kneeling at my mother’s knees as she led me in prayer. I remember asking Jesus to forgive my sins. I remember saying, “Amen” and feeling a sudden rush of happiness. Although at age 5 I couldn’t put words to it, it felt exactly as though a load of bricks had been taken off my shoulders. What joy!
    King David knew something about this joy. In Psalm 51, when he is confessing to God after his sin with Bathsheba, he pleads, “Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation”. Sin always causes separation between us and God, and that eliminates joy. “In Thy presence is fullness of joy”. (Ps. 16:11) This is true not only in the eternal sense, but also as a principle in our daily lives. According to God, there are no problems outside of sin, and no solutions outside of Jesus Christ. David, in Psalm 32:1 says, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” The word “Blessed” literally means “happy”. So if you aren’t happy, if you don’t have joy from being in the presence of God, the reason is very simple: there is unconfessed sin in your life. That may sound harsh, but it’s the truth, and the truth will set you free! In Psalm 32, David goes on to describe what life is like in that state: painful, peaceless, and dry as a desert. Then in verse 5 he unveils the solution: “I acknowledged my sin unto Thee...and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin”. It’s that simple! I’ve seen this borne out so many times in my own life. When I realize that my joy is missing, I’ll go to God and say, “Ok, what’s wrong?” and He is always faithful to gently and specifically show me where I have been disobeying. Maybe I’ve harbored a spirit of complaining, or spoken without kindness to someone. Maybe I’ve allowed an anxiety to roost in my soul, or been unthankful. Whatever it is, if I take it seriously and confess it as sin, God forgives me and cleanses me from it every time. Then comes my favorite part: our relationship is restored! I am reconciled to God and can rejoice in Him again!

Joy is not reserved for conversions and mountaintop experiences. It’s supposed to be a constant, daily reality, just like our walk with Christ. It is, after all, a fruit of the Spirit. “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit”. (Gal. 5:25) So how do we keep our joy when trials come? What do we do when the basement floods, when you have a headache, when your prayers haven’t been answered yet? Keep your focus on Jesus, and trust Him. Refuse to look at the enemy’s evidence, he’s a liar. Jesus is our source of joy, and if you remain clinging to Him, your joy will have no end, only increase. Blessings!

“Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, you righteous;

And shout for joy, all you upright of heart!”

-Psalm 32:11

Written for Pathways To Serenity, Vol. 1, Issue 4: "Joy"

Life: Incoming

(PS: If the print is unreadable, try zooming in: [Ctrl] & [+] ).

Comic strip courtesy of www.fborfw.com.