Going through a lot? Remember this

There was this time that I came across a beautiful narration. I’m not quite sure if this actually happened somewhere on this Earth but the lesson it presents is truly valuable. Let’s see what it’s all about.

Artists were recruited for a competition in which they were required to portray in their painting an emotion that resonates with the judges on a particular topic.

After exploring various topics and having several of these talented artists eliminated, it was now time for the grand finale. Two of the artists were now left who would battle it out against each other. The topic the judges chose for this final round of the competition was peace. “Paint something to portray peace”, they unanimously instructed.

The artists immediately got busy, pouring hours of their creativity into what was to be their final painting.

When they were done and confident about what they had painted, they submitted their paintings for evaluation.

The judges took turns to inspect their work. Amazingly, two contrasting paintings were observed. Contrasting in the sense that whereas one immediately gave an impression of serenity and quietness, the other did the exact opposite- it portrayed terror.

The former was a painting of a quiet park that was beautifully adorned with trees with a warm and comfortable bench facing the sunset. The latter was a painting of a raging storm that looked vicious enough to destroy anything in its path.

This was a very easy decision to make. Without much thought, the judges were ready to come out with their verdict when one of them realized something about the painting of the raging storm. “Wait… look at this? there’s something there”.

Unbeknownst to them, in the midst of the storm, there was a rock that housed what looked like a lamb. The lamb looked so peaceful and totally oblivious of whatever storm was around it. The rock shielded it from the raging storm. At this realization, the tables turned and the award went to the painter of the raging storm.

What does this narration tell us about peace? Quite a lot. The first I can tell is that peace isn’t just the absence of chaos. It is really about finding a haven to abide in when you’re surrounded by the chaos.

Time and again, the Lord is referred to as our refuge. He is our haven that we can confidently flee to in the midst of the chaos. Jesus sought to teach His disciples this truth firsthand as they were caught by a great tempest in the sea.

Jesus by then was calmly sleeping even in the midst of that tempest (something His disciples didn’t take lightly). They promptly woke Him up and rebuked Him saying “don’t you care that we perish?”.

Jesus, on the other hand, rebuked them for their little faith. They couldn’t believe that He, Jesus, was their peace in the midst of the storm. Neither could they believe the promise in Isaiah that says that the Lord will be with them through the water so that it shall not overflow over them.

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When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. – Isaiah 43:2

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Let’s take a cue from this, dear friend. The raging storms are still as real today as they were during those times. Today we can talk about so much anxiety, depression, diseases, poverty and its surrounding uncertainties.

We might be tempted to think that the only way we can survive is when all these storms are stilled and everything becomes calm and comfortable.

But what if right in the midst of all that chaos, you can have and experience a peace which surpasses understanding? This is a reality, dear friend. Peace is what we experience when we abide in our refuge and place our trust in Him. Jesus is our refuge and in Him, no storm is strong enough to upset us out of the warmth of His care.