Waves and Winds

 “Be Still, My Soul” is a precious hymn written by Katharina von Schlegel. While every stanza is great, I want to focus for a moment on the second stanza.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake

To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

We can have complete confidence in God even in the darkest of days and in the fiercest of storms. Why? There are many reasons, but one of them has to do with the unchangeable nature of God. Because He is always the same, His power never diminishes. He is just as able to control and work in the difficulties of today as He has been for every challenge in the world’s history. While we may not understand what God is doing or even be consciously aware that He is doing anything, God is always at work, accomplishing exactly what He intends to accomplish.

When we are intimidated, confused, or doubting within our life circumstances, we have multiplied instances of truth to remind us of God’s power and control. This stanza alludes to Jesus’ calming of the storm that terrified His disciples. We can look back at that incident and be encouraged at God’s work in the past. All Jesus had to do was speak, and the storm quieted itself before Him. He had power over external circumstances then, and He still has that same power today. Nature, people, powers – all must bow before the will of God.

I am reminded of Psalm 77, in which Asaph records a very difficult time in his life. He was without strength, without comfort, without sleep, without speech, without peace, and seemingly without the love and compassion of God. In this time when troubles seemed to overwhelm him, Asaph determined to focus his mind on God’s great acts from the past.

“I shall remember the deeds of the LORD; surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will meditate on all Your work and muse on Your deeds” (v. 11-12 NASB).

Interestingly, when Asaph sought a stabilizing anchor to keep him from hopelessness, he did not look at events in his personal past. Instead he talked of things like the exodus and the parting of the Red Sea. There are few stories in the Bible that are more dramatic in their illustration of God’s power and deliverance. Asaph realized that God was still the same for him as He had been for Moses.

God is still the same for us as he was for Moses and for Asaph and for the disciples in that boat on the Sea of Galilee. The Bible is filled with accounts of God’s tremendous work in the world and especially on behalf of His people. With a God who can do all that our God has done, it should be possible for our souls to be still. When we focus on the God who controls the waves and the winds, we can say with Asaph,

“Your way, O God, is holy; what God is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your strength among the peoples” (v. 13-14).