Dusk was settling over Galilee. Jesus had been teaching the crowds all day, but as twilight dappled the horizon, He and His disciples boarded a boat to cross the lake. Jesus fell asleep in the back of the boat, and “a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking in the boat, and it began to fill with water. . . . The disciples woke [Jesus], shouting, ‘Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?’ ” (Mark 4:37–38 NLT).

Sometimes the winds of life toss us, and we feel as if we will surely drown beneath fierce waves of stress, illness, or disappointment. And like the disciples, we can wonder if God cares that “we’re going to drown.” We long for God to just make it stop, to calm the storm.

There is no storm more powerful than your God. And He does care when you feel you may drown beneath the heartache of it all. His love can calm your heart even if His will chooses not to calm the storm. Sometimes He lets storms remain to teach you something in the waves or build up your strength at the oars. And sometimes the very tumult you think may drown you is what God is using to cleanse you and carry you to a better place of deeper trust.

But sometimes God simply speaks peace, and the storm stills. “Silence! Be still!” Jesus said when His disciples woke Him up. He spoke to the raging storm, and “suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm” (4:39 NLT).

God speaks peace to you today. And His peace will “guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). So if the winds of life toss you today, trust God’s peace to ground you. If the waves of fear, doubt, anxiety, or stress threaten to wash over you and take you under, hold tight to Him, for He is in the boat with you.