Don’t Panic! by Jeannine Stokes

 

Today’s guest blog is provided by Jeaninne Stokes. Jeaninne is a Christian author, speaker and Bible-teacher whose mission is to write to inspire and equip others to live a life of faith in every aspect of their lives. Along with teaching the Word of God, she is also passionate about helping people answer the call to write for Christian publication and offers training, coaching and consulting services for aspiring Christian writers and authors. To learn more about her ministry, visit her at: www.jstokeswritingministries.com

DON’T PANIC!

“Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, ‘Lord, save us!’ ‘We’re going to drown!'” (Matthew 8: 23-25)

After an eventful day of teaching, Jesus and his disciples set out to cross the Sea of Galilee. But as they made their way across the peaceful body of water, it was quickly transformed by a violent storm, stirring the water into  twenty-foot waves. The disciples didn’t expect  a storm to occur on the Sea of Galilee; they were caught completely by surprise.

At times, our lives are like the Sea of Galilee. We start the day and all is calm, but then an unexpected storm arises. A routine visit to a doctor renders bad news. We drive to work and get hit  by a drunk driver. We arrive at work and find a pink slip waiting on our desk. We didn’t begin the day expecting anything unusual to happen; but without any warning, we find ourselves in the midst of a storm.

Such was the case when I visited my doctor for my annual check-up. Everything was going smoothly during our visit until I heard him say,  “Mrs. Stokes, I feel a lump in your breast and want to refer you to a specialist.”

After seeing a battery of specialists, my life was quickly transformed into a violent storm when the doctor said the following words, “You have breast cancer.” And my reaction, like the disciples on the sea of Galilee, was to panic.

I panicked because I knew women who died from breast cancer, and I didn’t know if I would survive my diagnosis.

I panicked because I had often heard horror stories about the toll radiation and chemotherapy took on a woman’s body during their treatment.

I panicked because I was  simply frightened of what to expect.

But just as Jesus was in charge of the unexpected storm on the Sea of Galilee, I had to believe he was also in charge of my unexpected storm.

I had to believe he would navigate me through the maze of doctors and specialists, and the numerous questions I needed answered.

I had to believe my body could handle radiation and chemotherapy if they were required as part of my treatment plan.

And I had to believe I would awaken successfully from every surgery required to remove every trace of the cancer that invaded my body.

I was hit suddenly with a storm and the danger was great, but if I did not panic, and trusted Jesus to navigate me through my  storm, a sense of peace could eventually come into my life once again.

Isn’t it good to know that Jesus not only has the power to calm the storms of nature, but our life storms too?

Prayer: Father, when unexpected storms arise in our lives, thank you that we don’t have to panic because you are able to handle any storm we face. Amen.