This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
he is my God, and I trust him.

-psalm 91:2

I used to be terrified of thunderstorms. Once, as a child, my mom left me home alone to run to the store and the light rain turned into a storm while she was out. There was a branch scraping against the window of my playroom and I thought someone was trying to break in. I hid, terrified and crying until she came home. That’s when my fear of storms started.

But it was never the storm that I was afraid of, even though I didn’t realize it. It was the fear of someone breaking in and hurting me.

My mind is often the ideal location for a thunderstorm. When it rages like a tsunami it tosses my thoughts around in complete chaos. The longer the barrage lasts the higher the floodwaters rise, until I fear I might drown within my own mind.
But it is not that storm that scares me either. Not really. It’s the fear of drowning—the idea that the lies in my own head might win and suck me under.

As the disciples sat terrified in the boat, there was nothing they could do to save themselves. That kind of overwhelming helplessness is a valid fear. It is a real possibility, even likelihood, that unless the storm ceases, drowning is inevitable. Yet what happens when a natural fear is confronted by a supernatural God?

Peace. Be still.

The storm didn’t win. And it won’t today. Jesus has all authority and He alone can call any sea—any storm—to be still.

At the Name of Jesus—darkness trembles.
At the Name of Jesus—the devil flees.
At the Name of Jesus—the waters calm.

His Name is the answer to torrential lies in my head.

Every. Time.

There wasn’t just one storm accounted for in Scripture—there were two. The one where Jesus was asleep in the boat, and the one where He wasn’t even there. Be comforted… He calmed the storms in both.

Whether I sense Him with me and think He’s not paying attention, or I feel abandoned and alone, the storm still answers to Him. The waves do not yield to my feelings, nor the wind to my thoughts, but His Name alone governs them both. And I know from His Word that He is either right there with me, or on His way.

Every. Time.

Journal PromptsWhat is your initial response to the storm picking up intensity? How might you shift this response to experience more of His peace?What types of thoughts make up the storms in your mind?The disciples weren’t alone in their boat; who can walk through your storms with you as a prayer partner?Deeper Study

Lord of the Storm
Isaiah 4:6, 43:2; Mark 4:35-41; Matthew 14:22-33
Lord of my Mind
Psalm 91:1-2, 4, 139:23; John 10:10; Galatians 5:1; 1 John 4:1
Jesus is Peace
John 14:27, 16:33; Philippians 4:7; Romans 15:13