A Powerful Calm

“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.†Ephesians 6:14-15

A few weeks ago, as I was driving to the last MOPS meeting of the year, a simple rain shower evolved into a roaring thunderstorm. I am convinced that whoever coined the phrase “it’s raining buckets,†first uttered those words during a similar storm. It looked and felt as if someone was standing ten feet above me dumping ten gallon buckets of water on top of my mid-sized sedan. The highway flooded, thunder cracked, lightning bolted, and tree branches buckled under the wind’s fearsome stream.

My chest tightened and the warning signs that a panic attack was veering in were plentiful. Safely pulling off the road was not an option, so I turned up the worship music and began to praise God for being the one and only God; a God so powerful, so loving, so righteous and so in control. As I praised the maker of that storm, a powerful calm surrounded me. The truculent storm stayed its course. But I, the driver, changed mine.

Instead of succumbing to fright like I usually do, I accepted the peace that surpasses all understanding. My senses, of course, remained heightened and I wouldn’t compare the peace I felt to the peace of relaxing on a balmy beach. But still, as my heart calmed, the better prepared I was to drive along that chancy road. I knew that God was in complete control of that situation and regardless the outcome, good would prevail.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world give. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.†John 14:27.

Isn’t it beautiful how peace is ours for the taking? We don’t have to pray, “God, give me peace.†Christ already gave it to us. All we need to do is believe in it, embrace it, plant our feet in it, and walk with confidence knowing that Christ is with us always, even in the storms.