Calm Your Sea

Imagine some dudes set out for an ocean tour on a boat they hitched a ride off the coast of Miami, Florida captained by some gnarly looking weathered man with a mustache and sun beaten jean shorts. They wanted a simple, unguided tour, nothing sophisticated and he chartered for the right price. There were some dark skies way off in the distance, but they decided to take a chance and “Captain Not-Much-For-Conversation” didn’t seem to sweat it.

The further out they went some waves hit the sides of the small tour boat, some big waves. Soon they found a storm swelling around them and water began pouring in. Too late to turn back. They’re in it now. One of the dudes hesitantly approached the Captain to ask, but excited by the challenge, he pressed further into the sea. It didn’t take long to feel the intensity of the guiltless gale surrender their buoyant boat.

Now overturned, the dudes and Captain Fearless were exposed and clinged to the sides. They drifted through the swirling and churning wet wilderness that awakened with a snarl as it submitted its freshest victims. Powerless against the storm, they await its temperament and hope their grip holds true. Will they survive or will this sea swallow our adventurers as it has countless more?

I am reminded of the story ‭‭in Mark‬ ‭4:35-41 where Jesus was traveling on the sea of Galilee with his disciples and they encountered a big storm. The boat was violently tossed about and the disciples were terrified. Jesus didn’t care. He was sleeping at the stern of the boat. They woke him in a panic because the waves were crashing into the boat. He stood up, told the storm to calm, and then gave the disciples some punchy words. It’s a cool story. Check it out:

“On that day, when evening came, He said to them, “Let’s go over to the other side.” After dismissing the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And a fierce gale of wind developed, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling with water. And yet Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who, then, is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭4:35-41‬

After that, the Bible doesn’t tell us, but I’m pretty sure Jesus went back to sleep. 

The imagery of the angry sea waves connect to my state of mind every day as thoughts are tossed back-and-forth constantly crashing around my brain without relent. I’d say the majority of my thoughts are me getting inspired with creativity for new writing and video projects, business ideas, visionary possibilities, family things, theology, people I’m thinking about, people I need to pray for, things on my to do list, and whatever else pops in to rattle around like a pinball. Sometimes thoughts serve me well while others attack my core. How do we attack back?

I think finding intentional time to be still and be is the start of how we challenge our thoughts to surrender and instead of detaching our feelings, we embrace emotions. I think emotions are separate from thoughts, however without emotions, our thoughts control our mind. Track with me here for a moment. 

Let’s say a random thought populates your mind. Well that rarely happens so let’s say 12 thoughts invade randomly in your mind while you’re trying to go about your business and focus on work. Now let’s say it’s raining. Rain drops flow into a flood of thoughts. 

Within each lies one common denominator. They are time bound. Some thoughts link to your past, some lie in wait for your future self, and others are arbitrary distant, but there. Rarely do your thoughts reside in your present and being present with calm and clarity is what we’re after. Those are the moments we long to live regularly.

This year, I decided to embark on an adventure to calm my storm. I dedicated myself to the theme of finding Stillness through daily meditation practice.

During this time, I remain still in a common seated position and focus my mind away from the random thoughts racing through my head all day long. Instead of fighting those thoughts, I give them up to Jesus. Each evening as I prepare for bed, I practice 10-20 minutes of sitting in silence, being as still as possible, and praying to Jesus to combat my constant thought invasion. I pray He does something with them. Anything. I don’t care what. I just want them in submission and my mind to calm. I recognize I am powerless against the sea.

My meager daily 20 meditation minutes, I know in the grand scheme of things doesn’t sound like much at all, but it is both challenging and rewarding. I’m already seeing the benefits of falling asleep faster and being more calm and focused throughout my day. If that’s all I achieve, that’s enough right there, but I know that there’s even more benefits to discover as I continue my daily practice. 

What do you think about mediation? If you practice meditation, whether it was at some point in your past or you currently still do it, I’d love to hear your thoughts on it in the comments.

Jesus and His disciples encountered their own crashing waves and their sea was not calm. This is okay. What He modeled for us was not to try and chase away the waves, but rather learn by practicing stillness to be so calm in the sea you fall asleep. 

Jesus I need you to calm my sea of crashing waves with your power. Help me feel the presence of your stillness and sleep with my head resting on your chest. Amen.

If you want to follow my journey of stillness, see my Instagram and Facebook profiles. I’d love to connect with you there.