PART FOUR: "Peace! Be Still!" How to settle our soul in the midst of wars and rumors of wars...

"Peace! Be Still!" --Resting in complete peace even when the storms are raging around you.

Mark 4:35-41 35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him.37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Matthew 8:26 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

Yes, Jesus ultimately calmed the storm when his disciples cried out, but his response to them was--"why are you afraid: Do you still have no faith?" As if to say that--they could have been sleeping peacefully in the midst of the storm just like he was if they only had faith . I think this passage is a beautiful reflection of the peace of Jesus and how it quite often does not look how we expect it to. In John 14:27, Jesus says "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." The peace Jesus offers comes by faith alone. Faith is different than feelings--it supersedes our circumstances, situation, perceptions, and emotions. Feelings can change just like the weather did when the discpiles were in the boat--but when we live by faith--we are acting, trusting, and believing that God is real, at work, and working for our good & His glory, regardless of what we feel or see in the moment. Often times, faith leads us in the opposite direction of our feelings. It may appear foolish to the world, but it is exactly what he has called us to. We live by faith, knowing Jesus is in the boat with us. We set our mind on things above. Colossians 3:1-4 says, "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." When we know the final outcome of this world, that King Jesus is victorious and we will be with him for eternity--we can see everything we face on this earth with an eternal perspective. We can go through the wind and the waves with confidence, in peace, and completely unafraid because our lives are hidden in Christ.

See post PART FIVE as we conclude this series and discuss how Jesus teaches us to find a Stillness in our Soul--like the 'sea of glass' that we see in Revelation that leads us directly to throne of God in heaven! I am so excited to dive into this final section!