Do you ever feel frantic?  Are there moments when the pace of life is so demanding that you are unsure whether you can “keep it together”.  The world has gone crazy.  We live in a never ending news cycle that brings bad news.  It is easy to fall prey and become absorbed in the daily crisis.  News organizations thrive off the latest crisis.  Fear is the greatest weapon that nations can wield.  President Roosevelt said, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”.  Between our jobs, marriages, children, parents and the multitude of other obligations we have, down time seems unrealistic.

In Psalm 23 there is a line which reads, He leads us by “still” waters.  Water is an interesting substance.  You can drink it and you can freeze it and you can steam food with it.  There are lakes, ponds, seas, oceans.  Human bodies have a high percentage of water in them.  Imagine for a moment you are walking along a path and you come upon a gentle stream of water.  You sit down on the bank and watch the water.  The water is “still” no discernible movement.  You begin to concentrate on the water more and more and stop thinking about the myriad of thoughts going through your mind.  Peace begins to envelop you and you are relaxed.

Now, imagine you are on a boat with the disciples in the middle of the night and a storm comes from nowhere and begins to unleash its fury.  The wind is blowing sheets of rain through your very being and you cannot hear one another because of the thunder.  Lighting illuminates the fear in the disciples eyes.  Some of these men were fisherman and they know this body of water and they know what this kind of storm can do to a boat.  If they are in fear, why should you not join them?  Wait, there is someone else in the boat, Jesus, and He is resting.  The disciples implore Him to do something.  Jesus speaks to the storm, “be still” and the storm ceases.  Peace and calm take its place.

Psalm 46 describes the greatness of our God.  It also instructs us to seek God for protection in the storms of life.  Because of God’s greatness, we need not fear.  We can rely upon Him in times of trouble.  God is our refuge.  The psalmist goes on to say,”Be still, and know that I am God”.  Remember when Moses asked whom shall I tell Pharaoh sent me?  God replied tell them I AM sent you.  God reminds us in this scripture that even when people are all around us walking in fear, we have a great God to cover us.  We need to be “still” and allow our Father to calm us just as Jesus spoke to the physical storm, there is a storm of emotions and thoughts, which God says Shalom.  Shalom is a Jewish word meaning peace, nothing missing and nothing broken there is wholeness.

If you find yourself overwhelmed, find a moment to ask your Father to speak to the storm, “be still”.  Let God flood your heart and mind with His Shalom.  Give all  your cares to Him.  You were not made to carry burdens or stress.  Jesus said, “do not worry about your life”.  So DO NOT WORRY.  Spent time in the Word and with the Word.  Turn off the bad news and turn on the Good news.