Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“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.”
NL Daily Devotion for Wednesday, January 24, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
I’ve experienced dead calm. I used to live in a situation in which my partner had regular health crises requiring my intervention. As soon as I would recognize the signs of an impending crash, my emotions disappeared. I moved immediately into action. The calm got me through the crisis and back to a state of normalcy. The only problem was that later—sometimes two and even three days later—the emotions would come back and I would crash. Hard.
That’s not exactly the kind of calm Jesus promises us in the storms of our lives. In Jesus we can find the kind of enduring peace that carries us through whatever challenges we face. Then again, Jesus has unbelievable grace for our humanness. Trauma is trauma. Grief is Grief. These things are nonlinear. They aren’t once and done experiences. Jesus’ love and presence may help us weather a moment of intense storminess, but he doesn’t expect that we’re “all better” permanently and be disappointed in us for lack of faith. Jesus continues to walk with us, continues to help sooth the wind and the waves that recur and recur and recur, with eternal patience, grace, and compassion.
When have I experienced Jesus’ calm in the midst of a storm in my life?