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Have you ever sat in church listening to the sermon when it dawns on you the words from the pulpit are pricking your conscience? You know the feeling. It’s as if your seat has a temperature control setting that has been racked all the way up to “Volcano,” and you are left to feel the heat. I know I have. Depending upon the manner of how the sermon is delivered I end up feeling like slinking away in sinful reprobation or I’m motivated to hitch up my pants, square my shoulda, and march forth to be a better Christian solder. It reminds me of a saying I read the other day: “Religion is the means to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” It’s very true and the back and forth between feeling divine approval or soul-scorching guilt can be enough to make the most devout feel the need for a healthy dose of Dramamine.
How do we calm the boat?
The traditional answer/example usually relates to a story found in Matthew, Mark and Luke of the Savior calming both the boisterous wind and waves and his distraught disciples. The verse in Mark 4:39 reads, “And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”
What faith-promoting and thought-provoking words! It is an easy analogy to take this story of buffeting winds and clamorous waves and apply it personally to life’s difficult, heart-wrenching moments. The analogy prompts each soul to turn to our Savior for peace and calm and in our times of trouble.
This analogy and narrative support divine help arising from both internal and external incidents; the waves and winds are things happening externally to the hapless apostles. Internally, the apostles are delaying with fear, uncertainty and life-threatening peril. The apostles were, indeed, in a spot. And the Savior provided solace to them by both calming the storm and speaking peace to their souls.
So, how do we calm the spiritual sea-sickness that is part of our mortal experience?
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
Our past and our future are certainly relevant to our mortal and even our eternal outlook. However, I believe the crucial component lies in the present. In the present is where we make decisions that affect our future, decisions partly influenced by the experiences of our past. The component that utilizes our experience of the past, our perspective on the present and our vision of the future is faith. For example, if I am presented with a series of descending steps, my decision to put my foot forward will be based upon 1) In the past I’ve successfully mastered stairs, 2) In the future, I wish to arrive safely at the bottom of the stairs, and 3) I have faith, belief and hope that I will achieve my future goal. With that in mind, I move in the present and step out into space.
In an expanded perspective, taking that step out into the unknown is what we do every day. Each evening, we lay our heads on our pillows with the faith that we will rise in the morning. We begin our day with the faith that we will pass safely through until we can sleep once more. Throughout all of waking moments, our past experience, our faith in the future, and our faith in the present move us to take each step through our day.
Now that we have identified the components of living, I am sure you see I believe that faith is the key factor of the three. We all have faith to various degrees. I think many of us have faith in ourselves to some extent; we have confidence in our ability to accomplish things. From experience, we know we can be about our daily business. Can we stretch our faith away from a mere atavistic level and broaden our view? What if we expanded our faith to include our Heavenly Father and his son, Jesus Christ? What if we recognized that They are the ones who give us our breath, our strength, our vitality to pursue our daily hopes? What if, dare I be so bold, we cultivate a level of faith where we place our cares, concerns, hopes and dreams in the hands of the only God? Who more has our best interests in His Heart? If we can make that faithful leap and place our trust in God, putting it all in his lap, then we won’t have to worry so much about what mortality throws our way.
My father was a great example of this. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a few years ago. That form of cancer is generally one with a terminal outcome. Pancreatic cancer leaves few survivors. If I had received this diagnosis, I’m not sure I would exhibit the faith my father did. Instead of recoiling in horror and ceasing to live his remaining life, my father just continued on as if nothing had occurred. He went on walks, rode his bike, fixed things around the house, went to church and took my mom out to dinner each Friday night. It wasn’t that he ignored what was happening to him physically. My father placed his faith in God to such an extent that my dad knew whatever happened to him, God was watching over him and things were all right. My father didn’t complain as his physical condition deteriorated. He continued to live until he physically no longer could. I know my father’s example will remain with me the rest of my remaining days. I dearly hope to develop the faith of my father.
That is my message to you. Godly faith takes the uncertainties from life. Faith of that nature removes the burdens from our shoulders. We take on more than we need to. Our Heavenly Father is always there to lift us and sustain us and through His Son say, “Peace, be still…and there was great calm.”
Be kind, make good memories, and come back soon.
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