THE SET UP: At Thanksgiving this year, I got a reminder of what peace really looks like. We were at my in-laws house and it was the typical fun, loud, holiday gathering. There were a lot of us all crammed into a relatively small space. Everyone was talking, laughing, or yelling at the TV while we watched football. The game was blaring as we kept turning it up to hear over all the talking we were doing. There were three large dogs running around; and we were trying to get tables set up, food on plates, and everyone to a spot to eat.
And in the middle of all that chaos and commotion, my one-year old nephew, Jaxxon, was sprawled out and stone-cold sleeping like it was nothing. When we screamed at the game on TV, he didn’t stir. When the dogs started barking and chasing each other around every time someone new showed up, he didn’t flinch. He, well, slept like a baby. What was going on around him had no effect on him. And I think that’s what peace looks like.
We tend to think that peace looks like a Bob Ross painting with “happy trees” and birds glide on the breeze. But I think peace, real peace, is something that sustains us in the middle of life’s commotion and challenges. Anyone can feel calm on a quiet day in a breezy meadow. But it takes real peace to handle the storms.
That’s the peace that Jesus, the “Prince of Peace,” offers to us. The ability to turn to him in the middle of the darkest and most trying moments of our lives and rest assured that he will be with us in the storm and has the ability to bring us through the storm. Today’s Scripture reading is a reminder to us about the peace we have in Christ.
PASSAGES TO READ: Mark 4:35-41
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
Put yourself in the disciples’ sandals. What do you think they were feeling before Jesus spoke to the storm? What about after he spoke to the storm?
Has there been a time when Jesus has answered your prayer and calmed a storm and brought peace to your life? What happened?
Someone once said, “Sometimes God calms the storm, and sometimes he calms us.” What do you think about that statement? How would you define peace?
PRAYER IDEA: “Lord, that you for bringing peace to my life. I thank you that whatever storms I may go through, you will always be there with me. When I feel anxious, worried, or fearful today, remind me that you are the Prince of Peace and that I can entrust all of my challenges to you. May I be an agent of peace in the lives of others around me to as well. In Jesus’ name, amen.”