The Calm of God - Part 2: The Strength Behind the Calm

Regardless of the persona we seek to display to those around us, we are a fragile people, ill-equipped to fight almost any battle in our own strength.  It doesn’t take much of storm to completely uproot us from all stability, whether it be spiritual, emotional, relational, etc… 

The Fragile Children of an All-Powerful God... 

Paul tells the church in Corinth: "We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.  This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” (2 Corinthians 4:7)  

Paul is defining for us the true weakness of our flesh, as well as our greatest need, which is God.  This is why we discussed examining our ‘real’ relationship with Him in my last blog.  If we’re looking for the calm of God, then it starts with real relationship, the foundation on which our exploration of the wonders of God begin.  It is only in that real relationship that we will personally uncover the depth of our incredible power, rooted deeply in intimate association with God Himself.  This is important because of what is coming… 

The Promise of Calm-Shattering Storms... 

Paul continues: “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10).

We are weak, but the previous verse reveals the great strength of God working in the life of His true child.  It is only through our suffering where we truly realize the depth of our need for the strength and presence of God.  Possibly, it should give us clearer focus of what Christ suffered for us?

Trouble and hardship have been a natural part of this life since sin entered the equation in the Garden of Eden.  Trouble is coming.  Expect it.  And, know that, even through the most brutal of situations, there can be calm in the life of a genuine and focused child of God.

The Master of the Storms...

We serve a powerful God, One who can call out to the storm, and it must obey.  Whether this is a storm of nature, a storm of emotion, a storm of confusion, or a storm of faith…God is the master of all storms, both internal and external.    

Psalm 107:29 tells us that Jesus “stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.”  

Scared and faith-rattled disciples were anticipating disaster on the boat as the storm violently churned around them.  The boat began to fill up with water.  It would have been a frantic scene, to say the least.  Although Jesus was on this very boat with them, calmly sleeping through the chaos that so frightened the disciples, they still knew where to run for help at the point of their need.  They brought their situation directly to Jesus.  They sought His face, because they had a growing relationship with Him.

Their simple knowledge of Jesus, and their claim of faith, did not calm them, and it certainly didn’t calm the storm.  It was only when they engaged with Him, through their growing relationship with the Savior, that things began to turn around.  They knew that religion would not save them.  Thinking good thoughts didn’t numb the feeling of the water rising around their ankles.  Only Jesus could bring calm, and He did it by harnessing the fury of nature itself.  What an awesome God we serve...a God to whom the storms bow!  He’s worthy of our trust and attention.   

The waters of life will most assuredly not always remain calm, but the child of God, the authentic child, the one who seeks a deep relationship with Him, can always find perfect calm in the midst of even the mightiest of storms.  The reason…they know that whatever the storm may be, they need only find God in it.    

The strength behind the calm is God.  When you have found God, you have found the answer to your distress and fear.  Let the storms rage, but find God.  He will either calm the waves or calm His child. 


Next: When the Storms Continue to Rage: A God of Great Restraint