Dear Lord; Happy Tuesday Father!
You know Lord, it’s a vicious circle we face.
Storms erupt around us in our lives; casting the shadow of doubt upon our hearts and threatening to draw our focus from the peace You freely offer. We allow fear to gain hold, and from there we proceed not from faith but instead become driven by our false perception that for some reason, You’re not interested in our current plight.
Eventually, the waters recede as they always do and in our illuminated hindsight we realize that once again You’ve led us through… Unshaken by our circumstances, and unwavering in Your love.
Yesterday as I pondered this recurring tendency to doubt that we all seem to have, You placed in my heart a reminder that we’re in good company…
“As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.
Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”
When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”” – Mark 4:35-41 (NLT)
Now these were men Lord, that had personally witnessed You performing miracles and seen firsthand Your divine Love at work…
But still they doubted.
And over the course of my life Father I’ve seen Your hand in so many places, and experienced Your love in so many beautiful ways…
And yet, I also allow those doubts to cloud my heart.
Thankfully Lord,
You remain unshaken by our fears…
Unwavering in Your devotion…
And stalwart in Your love for us.
So when the storms rage about us and our hearts feel that grip Lord, I pray You help us see beyond those crashing waves; resolute in the knowledge that You’re in that boat with us and that soon we’ll once again be able to state…
“And there was a great calm…”
For it’s in Your precious name I pray Jesus,
Amen.
~Phather Phil
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Hi, I’m Phil Malmstrom, a.k.a. Phather Phil. I’m self-employed, father of two wonderful young men, an ordained minister who delights in spreading Jesus’ Message of Hope and Love, a science-fiction junkie, an aspiring photographer and above all that one of God’s Children who rejoices in His Blessings each day. 
And, as there are storms all about my family right now, your message, Phather Phil, could not have come at a more blessed time. I know God is with me. I need to remember that He is always with me and with us, no matter how stubborn and ornery we can be. Even when we doubt and question, He still loves us and is there to welcome us with open arms.
Blessings to you and yours!
It has been my experience that fear what we don’t know or can’t understand. With full knowledge of this, we, myself absolutely included, resort to fear first rather than calling out for God as we no we should. We need to understand that in any situation where we encounter fear, we must call on God to chase the fear away. We must ask God to teach how to resolute in the fact that its going to be alright because nothing can ever overpower or trump God. I have had to remind people at stormy times in their life that God is with them, He is in control, and to relax and rely on Him to guide you through. We go through the storms to refine us in His sight, perfect us for His will, and make us wholly rely on Christ for everything in our lives.Christ is the only thing on earth that can calm a raging sea, call on Him with your entire being, let it all hang out and call on Him to put the storms and raging seas in our lives to rest, and for good!