Have you ever felt swamped? I suspect we all have at one time or another, in one way or another. Too much to do and too little time to do it in, and/or with too few resources to get it done seems a common predicament in our 24/7 culture. In like manner, we sometimes may feel swamped emotionally. Fear, worry, anxiety can attack us from every side. Anger and frustration come when things don’t go our way, when our expectations are thwarted. Sadness, grief weigh us down as we try to cope with loss of any kind. We don’t know where to turn for relief. It can feel like we’re lost in the dark,that there’s no way out. When that happens, what do we do?

The disciples in our gospel lesson were being swamped by the storms at sea. The wind and the waves were overwhelming. They were in danger of foundering. These were experienced fishermen who knew how to handle their boat in all kinds of weather conditions, but they were at the end of their rope. In desperation, they cried out to the Lord who immediately came to their rescue, who calmed the threatening wind and waves with his authoritative word: “Peace! Be still!”

Christ Jesus will do the same for us today. We need not be swamped. We can trust in his perfect peace, peace that comes not from being lifted out of the storm, but in the midst of the storms that upset our equilibrium, knock us off course. When we turn to him and call upon his name, he will go before us and make the rough places smooth. He will lift us up when we are discouraged or sorrowful. He will surround us with his holy protection so that the storms of life will not overwhelm us.

Fortunately, we don’t have to wait until we are desperate to receive God’s saving grace. Day by day, we can take time to “be still” in God’s presence, resting in his life-giving love, allowing the breath of God to breathe through us, welcoming the light of Christ guiding us on the way.