Stirred but not Shaken.
In 2024, a magnitude 4.8 earthquake shook windows in Boston, Massachusetts. Earthquakes are almost unheard of in New England, and many people in the Northeast were unaware that a fault line existed. Most definitely not this one. Scientists discovered it originated in Mountainville, New Jersey, and, after careful mapping, announced a new fault line—the Mountainville Fault.
A magnitude 4.8 isn’t the biggest earthquake to be felt on the East Coast. In 2011, a 5.8 earthquake struck near Mineral, VA, and it cracked the Washington Monument. In 1886, an unmapped fault wrecked Charleston, SC, with an approximate magnitude 7 earthquake. While California is prepared, the long periods of quiet on the East Coast lull us into thinking we’re safe, but fault lines lie beneath the surface.
I’ve struggled with worry most of my life. My mind tends to go to worst-case scenarios, which is great for writing, but not great for living. Only since coming to know Jesus have I been able to shake off the chains of anxiety. Through prayer and faith, I can hand my worries over to Him, remembering that He cares for me. Sometimes I still try to take them back or hold on to them, but I’ve learned to ask God to prepare my heart because life’s problems can’t always be predicted. We’re not promised a happy, comfortable life. In fact, we’re told the opposite. Jesus says in John 16:33, “In this life you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
In Mark 4:35-41, Jesus had spent the whole day teaching by the sea. When evening came, he said to the disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” (37) The crossing wasn’t calm. The wind picked up as a storm blew in, and water was already threatening to sink the boat. Jesus slept in the bow of the ship while the disciples panicked. They woke Jesus, asking Him, “Don’t you care if we drown?” (38)
Jesus might have been stirred, but he wasn’t shaken. He told the storm to quiet and asked the disciples, “Why are you so afraid?” and “Do you still have no faith?” (40) The disciples were professional fishermen. The storm was real, the waves torrential and the wind severe. If these men were frightened, it wasn’t because they were being overdramatic. Yet Jesus had slept soundly because He knew God was bigger than the storm and powerful enough to bring them through to the other side.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me.” - John 14:1
There are fault lines that we don’t see, but we have to trust that God has a plan to see us through. We can be reassured that God will be in the boat with us as we face storms. He will sustain us through the fiery furnace. He will walk beside us through the valley of the shadow of death.
Knowing that God will uphold us with His righteous right hand is what allows us to have peace and push back on anxiety when faced with an uncertain future. Faith allows us to have joy when our circumstances try to tell us we should be depressed. It’s what allows us to stand strong in who we are in Christ Jesus when the world tries to tell us we are less than or something else.
When Jesus says in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” He’s speaking as an heir, bequeathing His inheritance. When Jesus died on the cross, He left us the gift of His peace, and He also promised us a comforter in the Holy Spirit who comes alongside of us, so that we never have to face hard news alone. So we, too, can be stirred but not shaken.