My friend Pam and I spoke at a women’s conference in Moose Lake, MN recently, about the “waves of adversity” we all face in our lives. I’ll be posting follow-ups for the next couple weeks, so the women who were there (and anyone who wasn’t!) can continue to chew on and discuss the topic. This one is written by Pam, who is Associate Pastor at Mahtowa Covenant Church.

When we are in the midst of struggle the temptation is to become so consumed with the struggle that it colors our focus. From the boat in the storm, the disciples couldn’t recognize Jesus (Mark 6). As I mentioned last week, the invitation is to place our eyes on God even as struggles continue around us. This requires a great deal of faith, because while we fix our eyes on God in the midst of the storm, we sometime find ourselves asking. “Why would God allow this to happen?” or many other versions of this question. We looked at the story of Job and one aspect to note is that Job never knew why God allowed him to go through the tragedy he experienced.

Do I have the faith it takes to let go of my desire to know why I am going through what I am going through?

Can I release my desire to understand and trust that God is God?

Psalm 46 says, “Be still and know that I am God!” The act of being still means to let go or to cease from striving. I am a person who likes to know, likes to understand, and at times I am convicted that I need to stop striving for the answer. And it is in that stillness I begin to know the answer, the ultimate answer, “…that I am God.”

As the disciples struggled in the waves, Jesus wanted them, not to see the purpose of their struggle, but that even in the midst of the waves, Jesus—God the Son—is God.”Be still and know that I am God!”

What does it look like for you to be still?

What answers have you been searching for an need to cease striving for?