Basking in the Stillness

The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. Luke 8:24

My husband has a hat that reads, ” Who’s in the boat with you?” It’s a beautiful reminder that Jesus is ever present with us as we experience the storms of life and what a wonderful thing it is to have the storms calmed and the fear removed.

On Good Friday I experienced this stillness, the calming of my storms in a different way. While the waves were not raging around me, my mind was swirling with all kinds of activity. It was full of thoughts about work, friends, to-do lists and schedules.

I attended a ‘Path of Jesus’ event at church and before entering the sanctuary the pastor gave each participant a letter to read about quieting their hearts and minds so that they could receive all that God had for them. The final words of the letter were, “Be still and know that I am God.” Then the pastor prayed over each and every person as they entered.

As I visited each station I prayed that I would hear from God and I did. He told me to lean into being present with Him and to do that I needed to lay aside my own agendas, thoughts, and worries by leaving them at the door and going before the Lord to simply spend quiet time with Him, basking in His presence and peace.

It was such a beautiful opportunity to shut the things of the world out and simply be still before God. I knew that He was right there with me and the more I let go of the cares of the world, the more I experienced His peace and I didn’t want to leave.

In today’s passage, Jesus was asleep in the boat while the storm raged. He knew the outcome and rested in peace in the midst of the storm. That same peace, His peace, was available to everyone in the boat if they chose to take it. Too often, like the disciples in the story, I focus on the storm instead of remembering that He’s in the boat with me.

I pray that I will take this experience to heart and the next time the wind begins to blow and the storms start to rage, instead of worrying and allowing the cares of this world to distract me from His peace, I will take a seat near my Savior and bask in His stillness.