[Jesus] woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Quiet! Be still!" The wind ceased and there was great calm. // Mark 4:39 

There are many evenings when I can’t wait to sit down, sink into a comfy chair, cover myself with a soft, cozy blanket, and drink a glass of wine in relative peace and quiet. I have spent the entirety of the day running from one place to another, my mind in a million places thinking of everything I need to get done. But finally, after everything is accomplished, the relief of reaching evening and a time of rest feels wonderful.

But we all know the evenings where we do not reach a restful conclusion. There are sleepless nights with sick children, short nights when we have to wake up for the early shift at work, late nights filled with worry over family members . . . the list goes on.

I can’t help thinking that the Apostles may have already been exhausted when Jesus asked them to sail to the other side of the sea on an evening when they needed rest. Think of how much worse the fear of an incoming storm would have been to them. It becomes so much easier for us to imagine why the disciples threw words at Jesus and doubted the power of God in their midst.  

When we face storms in our lives it can be easy to doubt that God will calm the wind and the sea. But how much more difficult is prayer, surrender, and faith when our human bodies are exhausted? When we’re exhausted and depleted it becomes much easier to allow fear to determine our actions instead of trust. 

When we want to cry out to the Lord, asking if He cares that we are perishing (see Mark 4:38), we need to remind ourselves that He does. Maybe we need to pay attention to what our bodies need, to give ourselves rest, nutrition, and time outside in nature in order to make a heartfelt prayer for faith in times of difficulty, and in turn, entrust our problems to the loving power of the Lord.

Think of the problems you are currently facing today. What healthy choices do you need to make for your body in order to better serve your soul?