I've always found the storm-calming stories in the Gospels both comforting and slightly frustrating. Comforting because they show Jesus's absolute authority over chaos. Frustrating because my storms don't usually get stilled with a word - they tend to rage for months or years before any calm appears.
Psalm 107:29 captures that moment of divine intervention: "He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed."
Not gradually calmed. Not slowly subsided. Stilled. The storm went from roaring to whispering. The waves went from crashing to hushed. Immediate. Complete. The kind of intervention that leaves no doubt who's in control.
I think about the disciples in that boat. They were experienced fishermen - they knew storms, knew the sea, knew when danger was real. And they were terrified. Certain they'd drown. Their circumstances warranted the fear. The storm was legitimately life-threatening.
Then Jesus spoke. And everything changed. Not because the storm wasn't real or the danger exaggerated, but because His authority is absolute.
Here's what I'm learning: the fact that Jesus can still storms doesn't mean He always stills mine on my preferred timeline. Sometimes I'm in the boat longer than I'd like, waves crashing, wind howling, wondering when He'll speak. The storm feels endless even though I know He has power to stop it.
But Psalm 107:29 reminds me that when Jesus does speak - whether immediately or after what feels like an eternity of waiting - the result is the same. The storm becomes a whisper. The waves hush. His authority hasn't diminished because I had to wait for it to be exercised.
I painted this piece thinking about that transition from chaos to calm. The turquoise and grey layers suggest ocean depths, the movement of water, the play of light. It's abstract because storms rarely feel neat or clearly defined when we're in them. But the verse above it all is clear: He stilled the storm. Not might still or could still. Did still. Does still.
If you're in the middle of a storm right now - circumstances crashing over you, chaos that feels uncontrollable, waves that threaten to drown you - may this verse anchor you. Jesus's authority over storms hasn't changed. He can still speak and watch chaos become calm. The storm to a whisper. The waves hushed.
You might be in the boat longer than you want. But the One in the boat with you has authority over every wave.