It was the most disturbed sleep he had ever had. He tossed and turned as though on a small boat battling angry waves. He felt the vessel shudder beneath him, ready to sink at any moment. The wind howled through his dream, the waves crashed, and the darkness around seemed endless.
Then, in that troubled sleep, he saw a man resting quietly at the far end of the boat. While the storm roared and the sea raged, the man slept peacefully. Fear overcame him as he stumbled toward that calm figure and cried out, “Master, save us!”
The man opened his eyes and looked at him, not with irritation, but with deep compassion. Rising slowly, he walked to the edge of the boat. The sea continued to toss and thunder, yet there was no fear in his face. He looked at the waves and said gently, “Peace, be still.”
At once, the wind stopped. The waves grew calm. The sea was as smooth as glass, and the silence that followed was deeper than the noise that had gone before.
He stood there, breathless, staring at the water that moments earlier had seemed his grave. The calm face of the Master was now turned toward him, filled with quiet strength and love. The fear that had gripped his heart melted away. The same voice that had stilled the sea seemed to speak now to his spirit.
He woke suddenly, the dream fading, but the peace remaining. The tempest was gone, yet its lesson remained alive in his heart. His own troubles that had troubled him for weeks seemed smaller now. He knelt beside his bed, lifted his face upward, and whispered, “Master, save me.”
Again, he heard those same words within him, “Peace, be still.”
His heart, which had been tossed by fear, grew quiet. His mind, which had been stormy with worry, became calm. A stillness greater than sleep filled his soul. It was the peace that passeth understanding, the same peace that stilled the Sea of Galilee two thousand years ago.
He smiled, for he had learned something that night. All he had to do was ask. The same way those frightened men on that small boat had done so long ago. He did not need to struggle, to argue, or to reason. He only had to cry out, “Master, save me,” and the storm, both outside and within, would bow to that simple prayer.
The night was quiet now. The air was still. And in the silence, he knew that the One who had calmed the waters then, had calmed the tempest within…!
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