“Be still, my soul,
Be still, and know,
Lean in, take hold,
In God alone.”
(Derived from Israel Houghton’s verse; God will work it out by Maverick City featuring Naomi Raine and Israel Houghton).
It is so timely how this song came to mind when I was tasked with this privilege to write this week’s new blog. We are having a very rough time not just as a medical fraternity (exams, uncertainty about the future) but as a nation with the wake of quite frankly, questionable leadership, vile injustices that seem to go unpunished together with a sense of hopelessness and apprehension of how destitute the future looks like from an individual and holistic scale. Like David, we are genuinely tempted to ask;
“Is it for nothing, then, that I have kept myself pure and have not committed any sin?” ~ Psalms 73:13.
Now, to say that we have not committed any sin would be a hyperbole of extraordinary proportions, but I do believe that as Christians in points of our lives and even now as a family we have faced moments where we have asked ourselves whether everything we strive to do and attain in our faith is even worth it to begin with.
Today I will not go down the railroad of how much of a fallen world we live in and how these are the end times; but rather to enable us understand that in such moments, the hope we have in Jesus, as abstract as it looks, IS and HAS always been enough for EVERYTHING. Think of it this way;
“All sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya and it SHALL (Underline the word ‘shall’ meaning mandatory) be exercised only in accordance with the constitution. The people MAY (underline the word ‘may’ meaning optional) exercise their rights either directly or indirectly through their elected representatives.” The events of this country are making me have to learn how to be a lawyer through apprenticeship lol 😂.
Using the same energy (Or Aura for Aura as they put it),
“All sovereign power belongs to the people who are known and loved by Christ and SHALL be exercised in accordance to his word. The people MUST exercise their rights directly through a concise knowledge of who God is and Jesus, the way the truth and the life.” (Hapa kama ulikuwa unangoja indirectly again, I’ve gat news for you😂🎶🎶. Mambo ya Mungu ni direct direct. Hakuna kuficha).
In case bado hujashikanisha, then let me just tell you, the above paragraph will be the catch-phrase for this entire blog. If you don’t get anything else, remind yourself of this✨️.
So using all altruism above, I want to indulge deeply in the story of Jesus calming the storm. I however want to do it from a versus series where it’s gonna be the disciples (who frankly represent us from time to time) and Jesus Christ, our perfect example.
“Be still, my soul” – One thing that I love about the harmonic paradox that was Jesus Christ’s persona is that he had the capacity to experience human fallacy yet stayed true and blameless in the authenticity of his divinity (Hebrews 4:15).Surely then, he must have known that there was going to be a storm,right?. I mean look at the beginning of the miracle;
“One day, Jesus got into the boat with his disciples and said to them,’ Let us go across to the other side of the lake.’ So they started out.”
Mark 8:22.
Jesus, knowing full well that a storm was coming, still commanded His disciples right to it!! What I love about that verse is the last part “So they started out.” The disciples had no idea about the storm yet they trusted, they walked right into it with Jesus on the basis of his word ❤️. In the same light, we may not know what future lies ahead of us in this moment (and frankly Jesus Himself asks, ”Why worry about tomorrow? Will any of you add a day to your life by worrying about tomorrow?”) but we rest assured that our master and Savior Jesus is the author of tomorrow. His word is clear;
“From the beginning, I predicted the outcome;
Long ago I foretold what would happen,
I said my plans would never fail,
That I would do everything I intended to do.”
Isaiah 46:10.
It was this knowledge that enabled Jesus to calmly instruct His disciples onto a storm like it was a normal day under the sun. And it is this calmness in the knowledge of who God is to your soul that will direct you in this season.
“Be still and know” – Hapa ndio discrepancies inaanza kufanyika kwa Form 34A na kuna evidence kwenye kalatas 😂. Now Jesus had so many times shown that He knew exactly who He was. Look at this beautiful verse;
“Father! Give me glory in your presence now, the same glory I had with you before the world was made.”
John 17:5.
And in the calming of the storm he didn’t even waste time with the storm;
“Jesus got up and gave the order to the wind and stormy water;they died down and there was great calm.”
Luke 8:24.
No pleading. No tears. No bargaining. Just commanding. I mean the audacity! Jesus really stood on business when it came to who he was. His disciples on the other hand 😂 (I present to you form 34A);
“The disciples went to Jesus and woke him up saying, Master, Master! We are about to die! “
Luke 8:24.
First time reading this I in my high horse kept mumbling to myself,” How do you even tell the master of the universe that you’re about to die?😂 Hamjielewi nini?😂”. But the funny thing is how many times have we done that you know? In our trials and moments of extreme anxiety, how many times have we forgotten that mundane yet important fact??
“Lean in, take hold, in God alone.” – It is so funny how Luke 8:24 can have such contradictory yet harmonious perspectives. On one hand, you have disciples who in that time of trouble genuinely forgot who exactly was in their ship. On the other hand, you have disciples who in their desperation understood the dire situation and the fact they were powerless against it and therefore went to Lean on the strong and unshakeable tower that is Christ. And the best part? Jesus did that too. Remember his temptations?
“In all that time he ate nothing, so that he was hungry when it was all over.” “But Jesus answered, The scripture says…”
He understood and was cognisant of his dire situation. He was hungry, and Luke makes it clear that he was. However He LEANED IN the Word that reminded him that “Man shall not live on bread alone but every word that the Lord says.” And He TOOK HOPE on GOD’S WORD ALONE (Note all his responses during the temptation; “It is written”).
The knowledge of the word of God is what enabled Jesus Christ calm the storm. That same word also didn’t really take away his physical hunger in Luke 4 during his temptations. One may ask,” Then what is the miracle in these cases as there is no link??” And to that I say,
“The miracle was never just in the physical manifestation. It was also and mainly on the spiritual fruitfulness of the application of the knowledge of his birthright in God and in the ability to move audaciously with that fact irrespective of his outward circumstance.”
Whatever God does He does for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). The maturity of biblical principle in the moment of trial, that is where the true blessing and miracle is at.
I’ll remind you of the catch phrase again;
“All sovereign power belongs to the people who are known and loved by Christ and SHALL (Underline ‘shall’ meaning mandatory) be exercised in accordance to His Word. The people MUST (Underline ‘must’ meaning compulsory) exercise their rights directly through a concise knowledge of who God is and Jesus, the way the truth and the life.”
Kama Yesu alisimama, je wewe? So Be STILL, and KNOW.
Paulo et Al,
La paz Sea con vosotros (Peace be with you❤️).