Carest thou not that I perish?

This week in Come Follow Me, we have studied the biblical story where the Lord and His apostles were on a boat in the midst of a great storm. The Lord had fallen asleep, but the apostles feared greatly. They believed that surely they were about to die. In their moments of fear, they had forgotten who they were with. The Son of God, He who created the earth was sleeping on their boat! As unfounded as their fear was, they awoke Jesus and said, "Master, carest thou not that we perish?" The Lord, then straightway arose, "rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm." 

In the midst of our personal storms and challenges, we may find ourselves likened unto the apostles on the boat. I had such an experience recently. Caleb complains on occasion that his knees hurt. And, at times, his knees are actually swollen with no apparent cause. Under direction from the doctor, we have recorded and tracked these pains. After tracking for some time, I brought Caleb back to the doctor. He examined him and asked about our family history, especially regarding rheumatoid arthritis (particularly juvenile arthritis). After some consideration, he felt that there was enough evidence that warranted a blood test and a visit with a specialist. He said that he believed it was possible that Caleb has juvenile arthritis or a perhaps a different autoimmune disease such as lupus. 

I left that appointment and researched those two things on the internet. The more I learned, the more fearful I got. Google was definitely not my friend that day. My mind replayed every "what if" and drastic scenario. I became overburdened with an overall feeling of helplessness. Maybe it's because I was already studying this biblical story, but without even thinking I found myself saying out loud, "Master, carest thou not that I perish?" When I heard the words leave my lips, it quickly drew my thoughts to the rest of the story. The Lord rebuked the storm. There was a great calm. I felt my thoughts calm down. I felt my fear be replaced by faith. The next scripture that entered my thoughts was, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not to thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths" and, "I can do all things through Christ". I snapped out of my "what if" scenarios, and calmly felt a reassurance that the Lord is aware of Caleb and our family. I don't think it was a coincidence. I believe that in our trials we must remember the promises of the Lord. When we yolk ourselves to Him through our living a covenant life, we draw upon His power to overcome. Storms aren't to be feared, for it is in the storms that we meet God.