DON’T PANIC!

“DON’T PANIC!”; these words are emblazoned on the front cover of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Being somewhat of a Sci-Fi dork, this was one of my favorite books as a kid. And now as an adult, sounds like great advice for life. Don’t worry I am not creating a new doctrine from the writings of Douglas Adams. But think of all the situations it could apply to. I just got a flat tire, DON’T PANIC! I lost my job, DON’T PANIC! The store is out of my favorite ice cream, DON’T PANIC! As Christ-followers, we are equipped to live our lives by it. Jesus is Lord over all creation (Colossians 1:16,17). He is Lord over the stillness and the storm. In Matthew 8:24-27, Jesus and the disciples were on a boat in the Sea of Galilee when a sudden storm came over the waters. The disciples freaked out! They came for Jesus, who was sleeping peacefully through it all at the back of the boat. “Lord save us! We’re going to drown!” they cried. “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” He answered back to them. Jesus than rebuked the storm and it was calm. Jesus is always there. He never sleeps through our needs. All we have to do is call on Him and He is there! In Matthew 14:22-32, Jesus comes to the disciples walking on the water and Peter steps out to meet Him. Peter takes a few steps, but he takes his eyes off of Christ and sees the wind and the waves around him; Peter begins to sink. When we dwell on the circumstances of our lives we often sink in fear and doubt. But when we focus on Jesus instead of the storm around us we have nothing to be afraid of! The storms of life may not always cease in our lives, yet when we look to Christ, He will always give us peace. And we don’t even need to bring our towels.