Anxiety

When we look at our external and internal worlds, our lives sometimes resemble raging storms. Torrents of health issues, family matters, economic woes, and political dissension can catapult our lives into tumult. Wind howls and waves surge, tossing our lives every which way within a massive ocean. It can unsettle us, rousing questions within. We find ourselves, like Christ’s disciples, wondering if God sees us or if He cares. There is a distinct difference between our experience of reading the account and living through a storm surge. As Bible readers, we can bypass the messy middle and skip to the happier ending in just a few moments when Jesus spoke and settled the storm in His followers and the one on the sea. That is encouraging, but when we are facing significant threats, we need these stories to advise us on how to navigate and hold on, despite tempestuous situations. Jesus’ followers lived through a real storm, with a real Savior, in real-time. Their example went ahead of us to provide takeaway truth when we find ourselves tossed on life’s seas. In His interaction with followers, Jesus modeled that we first address our faith, submit our distress to Him, and speak peace to still our storms. When we surrender anxiety and worries to the Spirit whose Breath fills us, we recognize that the wind and waves do not hold sway over us. They, too, have to bow to the God that created them. The God of mercy, who created us has given us the power to call and command storms into stillness in our faith-filled words. This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children [...]