Peace Be Still

Mark 4:38-39 (KJV)
³⁸ And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
³⁹ 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.

          I recall as a child what adults used to say whenever there was a bad storm.  They would always say sit down and be quiet because the LORD is working.  As a child I did not pay much attention to what they were saying.  As I look back now, the statement had much spiritual significance.  Why can’t we sit down, be quiet, and let the LORD work when we encounter our storms?  Storms are designed to teach that the LORD is in control of every aspect of our life.

           In the text the disciples are in a brutal storm.  In the midst of the storm, they started panicking.  They forgot Jesus was in the ship with them.  Why do we panic and allow the elements of our storms to rattle us.  The disciples were so rattled that they started talking crazy.  They felt like Jesus did not care about them because he allowed them to go through the storm and he did not move when they wanted him to.  Do not allow your storm to rattle you.  Remember Jesus is with you and he cares.  Do not listen to all of the noise in the storm.  The noise is designed to distract you from focusing on God.  

          If you are not careful, the noise of your storm will make you feel like you cannot make it through your storm.  The noise will tell you that you are not qualified enough, you do not have enough to make it, you are out of your league, and you are going to fail.  Do not fret or fear in your storm because we serve a God who is sovereign and he can calm our storm at anytime.   

God bless you and keep you is my prayer!

How To Face and Overcome Fear?

Psalm 23:4 (KJV)  
⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

There was a show that came on T.V. some time ago called “The Fear Factor.”  The show was very interesting to me because it made people face their fears.  Success or failure on the show was predicated by the contestant’s ability to face and handle their fears.  As I watched the show it indicated to me how powerful and paralyzing fear can be in life. 

Have you ever been gripped by fear to the point where you were paralyzed?  Has fear ever robbed you of experiencing success?  How do you handle your fears when you have to face them?  Do you avoid what you fear?  Do you clam up and shut down to the point where you are withdrawn?   Often times we find ourselves operating by fear.  Fear is a tool that the devil uses to make us under achieve and remain idle. What is it you fear the most?  How long are you going to allow fear to hold you captive?  Fear is like a dark envelop that hold us captive.  We can never experience the promises of tomorrow if we are held captive by the fears of yesterday.

          The psalmist David writes to tell us we can face and overcome our fears.  This verse paints a picture for us of life.  It gives the imagery of a shepherd leading sheep through a dark valley.  It illustrates to us that we will all have to go through valley experiences.  There are many experiences in life we will have to face but we do not have to be afraid if God is leading us.  Many times as shepherds lead sheep through valleys there would be cougars, mountain lions, and other harmful animals standing at the top of the cliff watching and waiting for an opportunity to pounce on them.  The position of the sheep in the valley made the animals look bigger than they really were when the sun shined on them.  Fear always makes things look bigger than they really are.  Fear makes things look impossible, unachievable, unbearable, and impassable. 

What are you facing right now that appears as a giant?  I want to encourage you to face it.  The psalmist reassures us we have a shepherd that helps us as we face our fears in life.  Understand that you are not alone and God is with you every step of the way as you face your fear.  The way to overcome fear is to have confidence in God and know whatever you have to face in life he has the ability to get you through it. 

God bless and keep you is my prayers.  

God's Plan

Jeremiah 1:5 (KJV)
⁵ Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

          Have you ever found yourself struggling with God’s will for your life?  Have you ever questioned whether God has a plan for your life?  Your life quite frequently does not seem to make sense to you.  You have become immune to the chaos, confusion and catastrophe you are encountering.  Life has become so foggy you cannot see your way and you feel so alone.  

You have gotten to a place where you want to give up.  All of the pressure, problems and perils of life are overwhelming you.  Your plate is running over and you have reached your breaking point.  You want to cry, but there are no more tears left.  You want to scream out for help, but when you open your mouth the words do not come out.  You look at your life and say life did not turn out the way I expected it to. What do you do when you are about to break?  How do you find the strength to keep going on when it seems like your life is not going anywhere?

          In the text mentioned above, Jeremiah helps those of us struggling with the will of God.  God had a task for Jeremiah to perform and Jeremiah struggled with it.  God tells Jeremiah in this text that he had a plan for his life before his conception in the womb.  That is a great reassurance to all of us wherever we are in life.  God has mapped out every aspect of our life to the smallest detail.  There is nothing we encounter in life that God has not authorized.  The reality of life is we do not get to choose what happens to us. God is in control of our lives. We have to learn to embrace what God puts in our path.  

I thank God he is in control because he knows what is best for us based on his will for our life.  God has created every one of us for a purpose.  We cannot allow what is going on in our life to inhibit us from fulfilling our purpose.  When you feel like giving up understand God has a purpose for your life and the struggle is designed to push you forward. 

God bless and keep you is my prayer.