Thought Adjuster: “You were just reading about the incident on the Sea of Galilea when Jesus’s disciples became frightened by a short-lived and yet very violent storm.  In their fright, they awakened the sleeping Jesus to ask Him to save them.  Jesus remained undisturbed and said: “Why are all of you so filled with fear?  Where is your faith? Peace.  Be quiet.”  Coincidentally, the storm calmed down, which was interpreted as a miracle by His disciples.  “Jesus plainly explained to the twelve that he had spoken to their troubled spirits and had addressed himself to their fear-tossed minds, that he had not commanded the elements to obey his word, but it was of no avail.”  [UB Paper 151, Section 5]

“This episode brings two things come to the fore: (1) Jesus did not lose his characteristic poise.  He slept in the midst of the raging storm and remained calm upon being awoken by his panicky disciples.  (2) He commanded the unsettled minds of His disciples to regain their inner peace—not the stormy natural elements.

“Let us now look at this episode from the perspective of your life on this world.  You surely can relate, as each one of you, without exception, encounters inner storms—some of a great magnitude.  How do you respond to them?  Do you keep your cool or do you lose your nerves?  It is natural to be initially overcome by fear.  Yet, it is in your power to decide how long you will let it toss you around emotionally.

“This is what Jesus taught His disciples.  No matter what befalls you, stay strong at the rudder of your human skiff so that you can quickly move it through these stormy and very unsettling emotions.  Call upon Jesus’ Peace—a peace that is ALWAYS available to you on the inner.  The quality of His peace is what ‘miraculously’ appeases your inner storms and leads you to a safe inner anchorage. 

“Dear ones, your life storms are teaching you to earn your stripes as a ‘weathered’ captain—the Master of yourself.  By maintaining your composure, you are able to make life-saving decisions.  Indeed, peace of mind is your life-saver. Moreover, just as Jesus had a ‘peace-commanding’ presence, you will as well draw others into your peace, rather than allowing them to dangerously pull you into their storms.”