Facing the storms of Life
When trials come, don’t forget there is someone who can bring you peace.
After a long day of teaching, Jesus Christ boarded a ship with His Apostles. They were going across the Sea of Galilee to teach the people on the other side. Christ was asleep when a storm came upon them.
The Apostles began to fear the storm as they were tossed by the winds and water filled their boat. They awoke Jesus, crying, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” (Mark 4:38).
Christ arose and calmed the winds and waves with His power, saying“Peace, be still” (Mark 4:39). He turned to His Apostles and asked, “Where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25). Christ gently chastised them for being fearful and not remembering that He can calm the tossing seas during a storm.
I recently heard a friend say that “life is a storm sometimes.” How true that is! Life can be tempering, lifting us with winds of misfortune, grief, shame, or stress.
Do we call on Heavenly Father and His Son when the waters of anguish begin to fill our ship? Do we have the faith to trust in Christ?
It’s hard to remember there is someone who can bring peace when we are being tossed so hard that we feel like we can barely hang on. Sometimes in life we just try to outlast the storm, forgetting to call on the One who can calm it.
Peace may not always come as it did that long-ago day on Galilee—the storms and winds may not be replaced by perfect calm. Instead, when we hasten to call on the Master and allow Him to bear our burdens, our peace may come in small reminders of His love and care, giving us strength to get through the storm.
That is what happened to me in July. The end of OUTREACH and with it came the cares, worries, and work I had experienced during the past six months. I was exhausted, emotional, and lonely. I felt like I was being tossed by the storms of life. General work was coming up, and I looked forward to hearing the prophets of God speak to me, hoping to feel a calmness enter my “sinking soul.”
A closing hymn brought great peace. As the choir sang the third verse, I felt the Spirit calm the seas inside me:
Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed, For I am thy God and will still give thee aid. I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
It is our faith in Christ’s calming power and our hastening to call for His help that allows Him to calm our hearts during life’s storms.
My storm may not have been as tempestuous as the storms others face, but it is not the velocity of the storm that makes our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ willing to help us. It is our faith in Christ’s calming power and our hastening to call for His help that allows Him to calm our hearts during life’s storms.
Joy Can Be Ours
“My brothers and sisters, however dark conditions may seem in this world today, whatever the storms we are facing personally, in our homes and our families, this joy can be ours now. …
“… Our faith in Him and obedience to His commandments will bring ‘a perfect brightness of hope’ [2 Neph 31:20]
