Meditation

Read Mark 4:35-41

[Jesus] woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.—Mark 4:39 (NRSV)

Due to a decline in my health, I was forced to give up my career as a primary school teacher. The job had enabled me to support my husband and myself while he finished his university degree. This time of financial difficulty has been debilitating for us. God is good and has provided us with the means to pay our rent and other bills and to buy food through government benefits. However, we have no money left over for other necessities.

As I’m writing this, my benefits will be cut in two months. I wonder how we will pay rent and cover our needs. My husband started a new job, but we’re just scraping by. I try to focus on Jesus’ calming presence but the threat of homelessness strikes constant fear in me.

This afternoon I was in the kitchen when the sky suddenly turned dark. A storm blew in with strong wind and hail. Then, as quickly as it came, the squall ceased and the sun came out. As I stood on the balcony and soaked in the sunlight, my faith was renewed as I realized that my husband and I are not going through this trial alone. God is with us in the storm, caring for and protecting us. And in time, God will bring us to the other side of the storm where the sun will shine again.

Prayer: Loving Father, thank you for your presence during our trials. When we face troubles, help us always to find you in the midst of the storm. Amen.

Thought for the day: Even when I face troubles, God will not forsake me.

—Madeline Twooney, Germany.