Peace! Be Still!

After David was anointed to be the next king of Israel, his life essentially went back to normal - back to shepherding his father's sheep. King Saul was still on the throne with no knowledge of his successor. But David knew.

So when Goliath, the leader of the Philistine army, - bigger, stronger, and with massive weaponry - shouted threats at the people of Israel, David answered with calm assurance that God would give David the victory.

46b "so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hand." (1 Samuel 17:46b-47)

As laid out in the book of Mark, after calling his disciples Jesus began his ministry by teaching - shepherding his Father's sheep. The people had no understanding of the power that was in their midst. But Jesus knew.

So as Jesus traveled with the disciples, by boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, he slept with calm assurance even as a storm tossed the boat causing it to take on water.

38 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?” 39 He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40 He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" 41 And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" (Mark 4:38-41)

In order to experience God's peace, we have to be willing to stand up to the giants in our lives and sail in the midst of the storm. We can rest with calm assurance in whose we are.