There is a quote by Elizabeth Elliot (the wife of the martyred missionary, Jim Elliot) that says,
“We are not adrift in chaos. We’re held in the everlasting arms.”
If you feel adrift— look again. Jesus slept in the boat that was being tossed violently in the chaos of the storm because he knew that his Father was holding him and had plans for him beyond the current storm. The chaos had no power over the One who held him in his everlasting arms.
You may be in a personal storm— chaos may be surrounding your life and pressing in to invade your thoughts and beliefs. If you belong to Jesus— you are not adrift or subject to the will of the storm or the outcome of the chaos— you are being held in the everlasting arms of God. You are secure in his plans for you.
His plans for you and will for your life (and for the number of your days) are not determined by the wind and waves, they were determined before the foundations of the earth, and what God has determined, he will accomplish. Find rest for your soul by knowing that you are being held. Held in his arms and in his will for your life.
We remember how the disciples panicked and feared that the storm would take their lives— while their Savior slept. Yet, his sleep was a posture of absolute trust in his Father. God is not sleeping while you think you might not survive the storm. Jesus slept knowing that his Father was fully awake and aware of the storm that they were in. He knew that even the wind and waves were subject to a greater power.
There is another story in 1 Kings 19 where we find Elijah in a moment of great fear for his life. The prophets were being put to death and his life was threatened as well. He was so caught up in the chaos of the storm that surrounded him that he prayed that the Lord would take his life. After the angel of the Lord visited him and strengthened him for the journey ahead— God spoke to him,
“…Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” 1 Kings 19:11-12
God was in the whisper and showed Elijah the way forward. Though the world loves to put on a display of power to create fear and chaos. Yet, often the gentle whisper brings the answer that is needed. We tend to focus our attention upon the powerful winds, the quaking, and the fire— yet God was not in any of that. He was still in control, and he was found in a gentle whisper.
I have found that I hear the gentle whisper when I remember that I am constantly being held by his everlasting arms and allow myself to find rest and peace there. I am not subject to the will of the chaos or the powers of this world; I am held in a whisper that says, “You are mine!”
Just like Elijah, we have angelic help as well. Angels come to strengthen us and sustain us with all that we need for the journey ahead.
We must trust him with determining the days and path of our lives. We must trust that he will whisper wisdom. We must trust that we are not adrift in the chaos of life but held by the One who has obtained our victory through the ultimate act of love— his life in exchange for our sin.
No matter what chaos is surrounding you today— you are being held. You are held in the everlasting arms of God and held in his everlasting victory. The storms may come, but your fate is not determined by the power of the storm but by the gentle whisper that spoke and created the earth and all that is in it. The voice that declared over all chaos, “Peace be still.”
So— peace and be still in his everlasting arms.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Inscribe Ministries
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