Light of The World Today
Peace in the Boat: The Habits That Keep You Steady
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27 NIV
Part 1 showed that Jesus named the destination before the storm began and that he was in the boat the whole time. Today is practical. How do you actually keep your heart steady while the waves are still high? The answer is not a technique you learn when the storm arrives. It is a set of habits already in place before it does.
A Real World Example: The Storm on the Simmonds
In October 1735, John Wesley set sail from Gravesend aboard the Simmonds, bound for Georgia. On board was a company of German Moravian Christians. On Sunday 25 January 1736, in the middle of the Atlantic, a violent storm struck during an evening service. Wesley wrote in his journal that the sea broke over the ship, split the mainsail and poured in between the decks, as if the great deep had already swallowed them up.
He recorded that a terrible screaming began among the English. But the Germans looked up, and without intermission calmly sang on. Afterwards Wesley asked one of them, "Were you not afraid?" The man answered, "I thank God, no." Wesley pressed him: "But were not your women and children afraid?" He replied mildly, "No; our women and children are not afraid to die."
Wesley was an ordained minister on a mission to Georgia, and he was terrified. The Moravians were not. Their peace was not invented in the storm. They were already in the middle of worship when it hit, and they simply carried on. Wesley later sought spiritual counsel from the Moravian leader Spangenberg in Georgia, and in 1738 he wrote of his own heart being strangely warmed.
Three Habits to Build Before the Storm
Keep your mind fixed on him. Isaiah 26:3 in the NKJV says you will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Peace follows attention. The Moravians were singing, so their minds were already anchored elsewhere when the waves arrived.
Pray and give thanks in the same breath. Philippians 4:6 and 7 in the NLT says do not worry about anything, but pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. Thanksgiving turns your eyes from what is missing to what he has already done.
"His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:7 NLT
Settle the deepest fear. The Moravians were not afraid to die. That is the root of most fear. Romans 8:38 and 39 in the NIV says that neither death nor life, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Once that question is settled, the storm loses its strongest weapon.
How to Apply This This Week
Read or sing one psalm each evening, in calm weather, so it is ready when the wind rises.
Write three specific thanks every night before you bring any request.
Name your deepest fear and read Romans 8:38 and 39 aloud over it until it loses its grip.
Conclusion
The Moravians did not find peace in the storm. They brought it with them. Build your habits in calm weather and they will hold in rough weather. Part 3 closes the series with what the storm produces once you reach the other side.
Memory Verse
"His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:7 NLT
Lightkeepers GC
lightkeepersgc.org | youtube.com/@Lightkeepersgc
Key scriptures: John 14:27 NIV, Isaiah 26:3 NKJV, Philippians 4:6 and 7 NLT, Romans 8:38 and 39 NIV.