Peace in the midst of turmoil

IF it's one of those days when everything seems to be crashing down on you, you don't have simply to endure the turmoil; you can find genuine peace. This is one of the lessons made so clear in the Gospel accounts of Christ Jesus' life and teachings. Jesus' listening for God's direction, his acknowledgment of the Father's care, and his proof of divine power, even in the most challenging circumstances, is an example for us all. But how can we feel God's absolute control in the midst of confusion? We can be still and listen in prayer for God's direction, for His pure healing thoughts. It's a natural thing to do. Trusting His tender care begins immediately to lift our thoughts out of fear. The Bible encourages us. The Psalmist wrote, ``Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High. What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.''1

While my wife and I were out sailing one day the wind became so strong that we lost control of the boat. One of the sails came loose, and the boat became almost impossible to steer. The shore was about forty miles away, and we were afraid that the wind would blow us so far from land that we wouldn't be able to get back or that we would fall overboard. We later admitted to each other that we were afraid of losing our lives.

It was so noisy that we couldn't talk to each other, but we could pray even while the wind was whipping our boat around. Our prayers were very simple. They consisted of listening for God's direction.

In a few minutes we both felt more peaceful and were able to think more clearly. The wind hadn't changed at all, but we felt much calmer. Even though it was very difficult, we were able to steer the boat enough to head for shore. A man on the beach ran to help us pull the boat to safety. We were so grateful. He even drove us home.

To us there was a deep significance to what happened. The peace we experienced pointed to the fact that man's true selfhood isn't physicality, susceptible to evil, but God's spiritual image, safe in His care. A growing perception of this spiritual fact acts as a law of harmony in our lives.

We felt we had experienced the healing, saving presence of the Christ, of the divine influence that Jesus so fully embodied. The Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, writes in one of her poems,

And o'er earth's troubled, angry sea

I see Christ walk, And come to me, and tenderly,

Divinely talk.2

God's law isn't affected by a rocking boat, an upset relationship, a falling economy, or an angry, screaming crowd. His love for man is an undisturbable reality, and we can come to feel and experience this more consistently as we open our thought to it and begin to trust and understand it.

God's children are forever grounded on the rock of spiritual good. Nothing can ever shake man from his safety in God's kingdom. God's offspring are inseparable from Him, protected by His sheltering care. We have the right and the ability to begin proving this.

In the midst of turmoil each of us can be still, listen, and learn of God's absolute control.

1Psalms 56:2, 3. 2Poems, p. 12.

You can find more articles like this one in the Christian Science Sentinel, a weekly magazine. DAILY BIBLE VERSE: Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Isaiah 26:3