When Stress Feels Like a Storm
Stress can be overwhelming.
It can cripple our ability to function and even make the simplest decisions feel impossible. As stress mounts, anxiety can wash over us like crashing waves. Sometimes it leaves us in panic, or even fear. But this is not how God designed us to live.
Looking back on my camp ministry days, I remember seasons when stress felt unmanageable. I remember one spring in particular, serving the bridge season between my winter church role and summer camp role:
- For starters, Easter was approaching, and still part-time with the church, we were preparing for a large community outreach project.
- In the periphery, Summer camp registrations were rolling in daily, which, if not processed as they came in, would pile up into a mountain of pressure.
- Then came the hardest wave. I received notice from the government that 90% our summer job grants were denied. (2 approvals out of 15 position requests.)
That email hit me like a storm. Anxiety completely overwhelmed me.
When Anxiety Overcomes Us
Though I wasn’t in physical danger, my heart raced and my thoughts spiraled. The storm was inside my mind. In that moment, I had to remind myself of God’s presence and power.
I turned to the Gospel accounts of Jesus calming the storm.
“And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’” – Mark 4:39–41
Just as Jesus calmed the raging sea, He calmed the storm in my mind. The details hadn’t changed, but His peace began to steady my heart.
Christ Our Refuge
The truth is, life doesn’t stop throwing waves our way. Once one storm settles, another often rises on the horizon. That’s why we can’t simply wait for the absence of stress.
Instead, we need the presence of Christ. His peace doesn’t remove every difficulty, but it gives us a firm anchor when the winds of anxiety howl. Stress and fear still come, but I’ve learned to lean on Christ as my refuge.
His Word promises, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13), and “my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
The same Jesus who calmed the sea calms anxious hearts today. He is faithful.
Join the Conversation; Share Your Thoughts
- Have you ever felt physically overcome by stress or anxiety?
- What Scripture has helped you find peace in those seasons?
- How have you experienced Jesus calming the storms in your life?
