Peace and The Power of Stillness

One beloved story from the New Testament profoundly teaches us about Peace and the power of stillness.

After a long day of teaching the people along the Galilee shore, the Savior and his dear disciples set sail to cross the sea. I’m sure He was exhausted when he found a place to lay down and quickly fell asleep. We don’t know how long His disciples battled the “great storm of wind,” and waves that “beat into the ship,” but they must have been terribly concerned. These experienced fishermen woke Jesus, saying:

“Master, carest though not that we perish? Lord, save us: we perish.” (Mark 4:38, Matthew 8:25)

Jesus awoke and rebuked the wind and raging sea, saying: “Peace, be still.” (Mark 4:39)

When I was studying abroad in Israel, there was one Sunday that vividly brought this story to life. Our services were held on the beach of the Sea of Galilee, and a few fellow students had prepared a musical number — Master the Tempest is Raging. Little did they know when they chose this particular song that a storm would be stewing as the backdrop to their performance.

The waves crashed, the wind howled, and the rain blew as we started our meeting. Then the little group got up to sing, and the elements were suddenly calm. There was Peace on the beach as they sang these words: