Mrs. Pyle was my high school chemistry teacher. 

We were afraid of Mrs. Pyle; not the kind of afraid where
you think someone may hurt you. We were just afraid to cross her. 

She was tall and stately. Very stern. She always buttoned the top button of her dress. 

Even now, thinking of her makes me shudder a little. 

Have you ever seen a teacher try to gain order in a classroom by tryout to shout over the kids? That wasn’t Mrs. Pyle. 

If Mrs. Pyle ever walked into class when we were all talking, she just stood quietly behind her desk and stared at us. The noise usually died down very quickly.

What was the difference between Mrs. Pyle and other teachers?

Authority. 
 
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” - Mark 4:35-41

Literally Jesus told the storm to “Hush.”

Have you ever felt as if God were sleeping while your life was getting tossed about by a storm? 

The chemo and radiation aren’t working. 

The bills keep stacking up. 

Your teenager won’t speak to you. 

Another job interview goes nowhere. 

And the entire time, Jesus is in catching some Z’s in the boat. 

Doesn’t he know? 

Doesn’t he care? 

Yes and yes.

He just knows what’s really going on. 

It’s not just about the bills or your body or even your family relationships. 

He cares about those things; but he cares more about you and me being conformed into his image day by day. 
 
The wise person, the person of faith, doesn’t focus on the wind and the waves; the thunder and lightening. 

The person of faith trusts the steady hand of Jesus, who says to the storm, “Peace, be still.” 

A friend told me he was in his house when a horrendous storm came up. 

At the time, he was also going through a real time of testing, and he said that in his spirit, he believed he heard the voice of the Lord. 

He knew God wanted him to go and tell the storm to be quiet and to trust God to calm the storm. 

So he walked outside, right in the middle of the storm. 

He said he just prayed none of the neighbors would see him. 

So he put out his hands and he said, “Peace, be still.” 

And do you know what happened? 

It began to rain even harder. 

He got soaked. 

He felt really silly, so he ran back into the house and he prayed and said, “Lord, what’s the deal. I know you told me to go and say, “Peace, be still.” 

And he said that in his spirit, he could sense the Lord saying to him, “That’s right, I told you to do that, because I wanted to remind you that I’m God and you’re not. And there are many things that I can do that you can’t. There are many things that happen are beyond your control, but I have them under control. So just be obedient and trust me.” 
 
So if you truly believe, why won’t the wind and the waves obey us the way they obeyed Jesus? 

The same reason my class obeyed Mrs. Pyle and rolled our eyes at other teachers. 

Authority.

Dear friend, I just want to remind you today that God is still in control in the affairs of our world. 

Jesus has lost neither his power nor his authority.
He’s called us to trust and obey; to be faithful. 

He will never leave us nor forsake us, and He certainly is present and active in your life right now. 

And He still says to us, “Peace. Be still.” 

Would you send this to someone you know who’s in the middle of a downpour right now? 

Even better, call the person before you send it to let them know they’re not alone. 

For His Kingdom, 
Les