Jesus Calms Storms

fifth in a series on Anxiety

My goal with this final post is to summarize what we've learned through the Anxiety Series. I encourage you to revisit Calm, Worried, Overwhelmed, and Panic.

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I have presented each state of anxiety as if they are separate events that are related to an adjacent event like stops on a subway. In reality the shift from one to the other may be subtle, rapid, and unpredictable. This is why I decided to present the art pieces as a quadriptych in a square layout rather than in a line. One may cross between states in any combination.

Fourth Person - Anxiety quadriptych 24 x 24 acrylic on canvas by Kimberly Lavoie (square juxtaposition of Calm, Worried, Overwhelmed, and Panic)

I might predictably shift from Worried to Overwhelmed when an unexpected phone call throws off my plan for the day. Alternatively, I might have an instant of Panic that shifts to Calm easily because I remember to pray, breathe, and reconnect. There's not necessarily a pattern or an order to anxiety, but there is hope!

Remember that there are a lot of tools you can use and steps you can take to spend more time being Calm or returning to Calm when stressors arise. Over the course of this series we've learned about avoiding:

• Being over-tired - doing too much with not enough

• Being over-committed - saying yes to too many activities or people

• Being over-invested - forgetting that in the big picture most things are inconsequential and temporary

Instead, focus on:

• Self-care - rest, nutrition, exercise, and emotional well-being

• Boundaries - knowing when you need to say no to someone or something

• Perspective - recognizing what is important and eternal

• Gratitude - recognizing all of the good around you

• Practice - prayer, breathing, and reconnecting

• Compassion - for yourself, and for others when it is healthy

Jesus is the ultimate source of Calm. This is the most important key no matter what state I'm in. There is an important event recorded in the gospels that illustrates this truth (Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-41, and Luke 8:22-25). Jesus had been teaching a large crowd of people, and in the evening He got into a boat with His disciples and they started across the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was tired, so He fell asleep in the stern of the boat on a cushion. Suddenly a violent windstorm swept over them and the disciples were terrified, though many of them were experienced fishermen. It must have been quite a storm! They woke Jesus, exclaiming that they were all about to die! Jesus asks why they are afraid. He asks why they have so little faith. Then Jesus speaks to the wind and the water, "Peace! Be still!" and the intense storm is replaced by Calm.

A storm over the Grand Canyon

The word 'peace' is the Greek word siopao, which is used to describe an involuntary stillness. It's like Jesus has put His hand over the mouth of the wind and said, "Hush."

'Be still' is the Greek word phimoo, a muzzle, which reinforces this image. Jesus will not allow the storm to speak anymore. He asks the disciples again why their faith is so weak. The disciples have been following Jesus for over a year. They have witnessed multiple miracles that demonstrated Jesus' authority over the physical world. They were right to bring this problem to Jesus. He's not upset that they woke Him, but it seems like He is wondering if they were just expecting Him to be another set of hands bailing the boat. Do they understand that He can muzzle the storm and replace it with Calm? Do I?

We can bring our storms to Jesus, too. We should bring them with the expectation that He will provide Calm. Sometimes that Calm will arrive in the form of a change of circumstances. Sometimes He has to change us. Over the years that I have struggled with anxiety, I have grown so much. Each new experience draws me closer to Him, more sure each time that He will bring Calm. Through scripture, worship, and rest we can choose to hear His voice above the storm. "Peace! Be still!" This is not to muzzle us, like the wind and the waves, but to quiet us like a loving parent quiets a fussing child. Peace - I give you peace! (John 14:27) Be still and know that I am God! (Psalm 46:10)

Bring your storms to Jesus. Remember that red space at the center of Calm and Panic? For me that center is Jesus. He is our ever-present source of Calm.

Praise You In This Storm - Casting Crowns, featuring Phil Wickham

Sometimes He Calms the Storm - Scott Krippayne

Won't He Do It - We The Kingdom