I was listening to the song, Peace Be Still, by Hope Darst and as I listened to the words, I closed my eyes to picture Jesus calming the storms in my life.
Peace Be StillI don’t wanna be afraid
Every time I face the waves
I don’t wanna be afraid
I don’t wanna be afraid
And I don’t wanna fear the storm
Just because I hear it roar
I don’t wanna fear the storm
I don’t wanna fear the stormPeace be still
Say the word and I will
Set my feet upon the sea
Till I’m dancing in the deep
Peace be still
You are here so it is well
Even when my eyes can’t see
I will trust the voice that speaksI’m not gonna be afraid
‘Cause these waves are only waves
I’m not gonna be afraid
No, I’m not gonna be afraid
And I’m not gonna fear the storm
You are greater than it’s roar
No, I’m not gonna fear the storm
No, I’m not gonna fear at allPeace be still
Say the word and I will
Set my feet upon the sea
Till I’m dancing in the deep
But the words also got me thinking about trust right in the middle of the really hard thing….
Do you ever feel like you’re caught in a storm, just seconds away from sinking? Do you know the pressure of staying above water, panicked and struggling to keep treading?
And how many times have you been anxious or afraid or <FILL IN THE BLANK> and tried to quiet the storm on your own? Did that work out well for you? See, it’s easy to love Jesus and trust Him when things are going well but then how come it’s so difficult to trust Him completely when we’re in the middle of the storm-in the middle of the difficult situation-in the middle of the conflict-in the middle of the anxiety-in the middle of the worry-in the middle of the crisis?
So many times, I’ve given the struggle over to God, only to continue to worry and lose sleep over it. Can you relate?
Why though? Why do we do that? Are we being obedient in our walk with Christ if we are only half-trusting Him? How can we trust and yet, at the same time be burdened-be afraid-be worried-be stressed?
It’s like instead of walking all the way into the pool, we’re sitting on the edge just letting our feet get wet. If we want to be ALL IN with the One who the wind and waves obey, we have to trust Him completely.
We have to go all the way in or we have to examine why we’re more comfortable sitting on the edge of the pool in the first place.
IF YOU’RE ONLY HALF IN-TRY THIS TODAY:
- The unknown
- Your fear
- Your worry
- Your stress
- Your unrest
- Your overwhelm
- Your conflict
- Your anxiety
- Your anger
- Your loneliness
GIVE IT OVER TO JESUS COMPLETELY
Let it rest with him but then leave it with Him. If it helps, imagine yourself walking up to Jesus and placing that THING, the thing that’s threatening your peace, directly into His open hands. It’s His now. Out of your hands and in His. When you give something away, you don’t ask for it back, right? So, let it be-His.
Here’s how I like to ask Him to calm the storm;
Dear Heavenly Father,I come before you in the name of your son Jesus.________________________________________________ is causing me to be__________________________________ but I know you are bigger than all of it. Please take this from me and cover me with peace as I trust you to do what only you can do. Forgive me for being ___________________ when I know you are in control. Thank you for your goodness and majesty over all things. Thank you for loving & saving me time and time again. I trust you, no matter what and I know your plans for me are good and your timing is perfect.In your name I pray.Amen
Now, be still & at peace knowing whose hands you’re in-the One who calms the storm.
Mark 4:35-41
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
We need to stop trying to control what we cannot and remember, that once we have entrusted something into God’s hands, we must not take it back. Thank you for sharing!
Amen! It’s never easy in my opinion but always worth it! Thank you for your comment! 🙂
It is difficult but needed.
Amen!
That is often me, sitting at the edge with only my feet in. What a wonderful reminder to be ALL IN!
It’s easier to go half in! It’s a reminder for me to go all in too 🙂
When you said “So, let it be-His,” something clicked in me. That’s where I think I feel I need to take the thing back from Him because I feel it belongs to me. I would feel like I was being irresponsible if I left it all to Jesus to deal with lol. Isn’t that crazy?
Not crazy! I think it’s a natural response to not want to burden Him when we are so unworthy of his constant grace. But at the cross our burdens were washed clean. PTL!
It’s a common thing, to hang onto something after we’ve asked Jesus to take the burden away. But with a grain of faith, we can let it go. I love your visual of handing our “thing” over to Jesus. I used to use that very example with my kids when they were little, giving their “things” over to Jesus. It works.
Yes! I find the visual helpful for me too, especially with the big things! Thanks for your comment 🙂
This was so beautifully written. I am ashamed to say that I haven’t always been all in. I have turned away from God in the past because I didn’t have a very good understanding of who He was or how much He loved me. I have not let anything turn me against Him since either 2011 or 2012, but I still do get frustrated and I can see now how I am still not trusting Him with everything. I really liked your illustration of imagining yourself walking up to Jesus and giving Him our problems and I will be using that going forward. Blessings, Joni
I think we all struggle with this in our walks with Christ. If we could perfectly trust and handle our problems without help, then we wouldn’t need Him or God’s word, would we? In a sense, I think there’s a constant tug and pull between us and Jesus. Think of a child and parent relationship. Often times the child will want to go their own way, try things their own way first, etc. and the parent will sometimes observe the child’s independence while being there to offer another way when their child’s attempts fail. Sometimes the parent offers the right way and the child does it their way several times first, but the parent offers unconditional love as they help and guide their child. If the child didn’t need a parent, it would come into the world full grown and fully independent. Yet, it can be said, that we never truly stop needing our parents. Even when we’re fully grown and even into old age ourselves. I’m glad you found the “handing over” illustration helpful. God bless you!
Thanks for sharing this timely message. I was examining myself last week when I was anxious over something. It is true we feel so strong when things are going on smoothly, do we still feel that way when challenges arises.
I knew instantly that I needed more of God, to trust him more and to exercise my God’s given authority without doubt or anxiety.
I love the prayers in this post…Amazing!
I’m blessed to know that this piece spoke to you. Stay close to Him and trusting becomes easier and easier. ❤️God bless you!
I love this post. I can finally say ‘I’m all in’. It has taken me many years to leave my problems in God’s hands and trust Him to sort it without my help! If the winds and rain obey Him- so should I! He is in the boat with me while I’m in the storm!
Thank you, Karen! I’m touched that you enjoyed it and I think I love your visual most; Jesus being in the boat with us while in the storm. AMEN! So thankful for that! Thank you for sharing and God bless!
This was a beautiful piece to remind us all to let trust God in the storm. It is so hard to do that sometimes. I often struggle and try to manage the wind and waves myself. Which does not end well. I need to trust God and leave it all to Him. He is the One who can calm the storm. Thank you for this reminder!
So true, Collene! It is so hard sometimes. I too need the reminder often that He is in control and capable of taking the hard stuff off our plates. I’m so glad this spoke to you. God bless!
Very timely message with all that’s going on right now. We need God’s peace.
Amen to that! We sure do ❤️
Wow what a great post! I especially love the fill in the blank prayer, and used it tonight!
Thank you, Meghan. What a blessing to know that you enjoyed this piece and I’m glad to also know you were able to use the prayer! 💕 Take Care and thank you for sharing!
Are You All In? Powerful question! Yes & amen! It’s not always easy but the peace God gives during those times sustains us. I love the prayer you incorporated. Prayer is key in all situations. Thank you for a very encouraging post. God bless you!
So true on all points! I’m blessed to know this post spoke to you. God bless you, also!
Wow! Bless God for this post, my devotional this morning was centered on the storm and I even started writing a post on it. I believe God is speaking to me.
Betty, thank you for sharing this. I’m grateful to God for using me to get this message to you❤️
Whew! I needed to pray that prayer this morning! I have to laugh now knowing how many additional blanks I needed in that prayer. My list was long! But I have a smile on my face now and maybe a tear or two in my eyes – but those tears are from relief.
I’m thanking God that you found that helpful, Teresa! ❤️
It’s so true that we often start out trying to manage our fear/doubt/worry in our own strength. And then when we get to the end of our self, only then do we ask God for help. It takes a lot of spiritual discipline to go straight to God at the first hint of those burdensome feelings! Thank you so much for the encouragement to keep our eyes on Jesus.
Yes! And I think many of us know what the “end of ourselves” is like enough to know that it’s better to hand it over to Him instead, if we can skip all the struggling in between. It’s a constant discipline for me and I often fail at it. Thank you Jesus for your Grace and mercy. I appreciate your comment, Rachel ❤️
Oh, yes! I’m right there with you on failing, remembering and gratitude! Be blessed.
I used your prayer to hand over a certain situation in my life to God. Thank you for sharing it with us!
I’m so thankful to God that it was helpful to you. God bless! ❤️
Great prayer and example of faithful Jesus followers who lost their peace during a storm. Visualization is really helpful too!
Thanks, Melodie ❤️ Glad to know you think so 🙂
These words are so calming. At work, we learned an activity where you say one thing that’s bothering you outside of the workplace. You say that thing and then end your statement with, “but I’m all in.” I feel like your piece today does that same thing. Some much is going on around me abc within me, “but I’m all in God.”
I’m glad you were calmed by this piece and it seems like from your exercise at work, you’ve had lots of practice in “letting it go” and jumping all the way in. And, I like the way you worded this, “but I’m all in God”. Yes! I imagine He loves to hear that!
Being still is an intentional position, not a passive action. That was a game changer for me.
So very true! A game changer for sure!❤️