Peace, Be Still!

And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling…Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. ~ Mark 4:37, 39 NKJV

Peace, be still!

That’s what Jesus said to calm the storm that raged on the sea.

Peace, be still!

And it’s what He says to calm the storms that rage internally.

Peace, be still!

My Savannah really struggles with change and transition. Though it’s gotten better—MUCH better—it’s still hard and has me constantly running to the feet of my Jesus asking, “What should I do? How do I help her when she appears to be angry, anxious, and unsettled?”  He said to combat it with the opposite spirit. The opposite of anger and anxiety is peace. And I smiled.

Savannah means, “Peaceful meadows.” Isaiah 43:1 says, “I have called you by name.” Long before we knew the challenges we would face, God called her, “Peaceful.” Immediately that night, I went into her room, though she was asleep, and prayed peace over her mind and heart, calling her by name, declaring her, “Peaceful!” Since then, some days are good and others are very challenging. But each day and night I pray with and for her, declaring and reminding her that she is Peaceful.

What storm is raging in your life, in your heart? Command, as Jesus did, “Peace, be still!” Then watch how your words, through your God-given authority, affect your heart, mind, and situation. Like with Savannah, it might not produce immediate results, but the peace will come and the storm will calm.

Peace, be still!

©Heather Potts 2017

I Hate Pantyhose

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing…absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. ~ Romans 8:38-39 MSG

I hate pantyhose—and tights too! 

Early in my pregnancy with Savannah, I wanted everything to be perfect, so I got pregnancy tights… And then I cried! I cried because I couldn’t get them on comfortably. Later I cried because once I did, I had to go to the bathroom, and then I cried because I had to start all over! I was so afraid that I’d failed my whole pregnancy because I couldn’t make the tights work. But then a dear friend reminded me that my husband would love me whether I wore the tights or not. She even told me that she hated tights and refused to wear them herself.  It’s so freeing when you know you are loved! When I realized that my husband would love me even if I didn’t do everything the pregnancy books suggested, it freed me from a lot of stress!

My husband’s love for me gave me freedom. It freed me from pain, frustrations and a lot of wasted of energy—energy needed for developing a baby. But my husband first had to experience this kind of love. He experienced it through Christ, through unconditional love. He learned that nothing—not his past or his present, nothing within or outside of his control—absolutely nothing would separate him from God’s love. And once he had that revelation, he was free to not only love God, but to love me, too.

If you’re still fighting with the pantyhose—the things that cause you undue stress—in your life, just remember things will go wrong, circumstances will go awry, plans will fail, but nothing will ever change how much God loves you!

©Heather Potts 2016