The Spirit of the Word
"The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life."     Jesus
                                                                    "The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life."     Paul

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        How awesome is this demonstration of the creation (wind and waves) bowing to the will of the Creator.  The power of the wind in tornado, hurricane, etc. can be astonishing and dreadful.  The power/energy force contained in the raging billows is hard to comprehend.  As creatures of earth we are often subjected to stormy seasons― and we cry out for the Creator's help, to come to our rescue, lest we perish along the way.  Yet we know that He is mindful of every storm, and just as a raging storm can sweep clean the beach, so He uses the storms in our life to cleanse, to remove the debris, and to loose us from the things which would hinder us from walking on with Him.  Yes, He orchestrates every storm that comes our way.  And so we sing,

        One thing every child of God needs to learn― learn it until it becomes a solid truth in our understanding― and that is concerning the sovereignty of God, and HIS CONTROL of the interplay of good and evil― and though the "earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.  The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." (Gen. 1:2). The storms may rage, darkness be upon the face of the deep, and yet HE MOVES UPON US.  Moved― literally, the Hebrew is, "brooded," as His Spirit hovers over us, drawing us to Himself, changing us, recreating us into a new man, into His likeness and image.  The brooding presence of God not only changes us from glory to glory, but also imparts PEACE to hold us steady through all the processings.  What a manifestation of His love and care.
        Praise God, the time will come when there will be no more need for storms.  He will conquer all the tempests within and without, until it is written, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea." (Rev, 21:1).  But in the meantime, until we come to the time when He makes all things new, we must needs be tested and tried― yet nevertheless to find that HE BECOMES OUR PEACE IN THE MIDST OF THE STORM.
        The Master was―- in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow.  HE WAS WITH THEM, right there in the boat with them, when this great storm arose.  Having Him in the boat did not preclude them from facing a storm.  And His presence does not guarantee there will be no trial― but it does guarantee that He is with us to bring us through triumphantly, and develop our faith in the happening.  How often have we been guilty of failing to remember that a storm in not an indication that He has forsaken us― when in reality He is right there with us.  Indeed, processings are actually solid evidence that HE is there to personally attend our way.  Yet it often seems when the unexpected happens, we forget that He is right in the midst of it all with US. When abruptly a storm arises, and it seems that we are left alone, to paddle our own canoe all by ourself, just because we cannot see or feel Him― just because we are not always conscious of His manifest presence-­we develop the idea that maybe, for the moment, we are all alone.  Not true!  Not true!  He has promised "I will never leave you, nor forsake you." (Heb. 13:5).  It is a sure Word that abides the passing of time.
        The MAN, Jesus, took a nap in the hinder part of the boat, but HE WAS THERE WITH THEM.  And now victory is even more certain, for we read that "He that keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." (Ps. 121:4).  "The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, neither is weary. (Therefore He is able at all times, to) give power to the faint, and to them that have no might He increases strength." (Isa. 40:28­29).  Praise Him!  What a mighty God we serve!  Our daily present help!
        Betimes David found himself with various conflicting emotions in his life.  On one occasion he earnestly cries― "The deer is panting for the stream, and, O God, I pant for You.  I am athirst for God, the living God; when shall I reach God's presence?" (Ps. 42:1-2, Moffatt Trans.). This desire to be much more aware of God's presence― surely we can readily identify with this cry.  Yet the Psalmist also said, "Where shall I go from Your Spirit? or where shall I flee from Your presence?" (Psalm 139:7).  The omnipresence of God is a fact!  HE is everywhere!  Yet there often is a need for something more than just a general knowledge of His omnipresence-­we need to INTIMATELY KNOW HIM in the midst of our storms.  David learned much more of an intimacy with God as he walked out the storms in his life, and the Lord became his peace, until he was able to say, "I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth." (Ps. 34:1)
        The disciples did know that "the MAN Jesus" was there, and so they woke Him.  They required that He be actively, manifestedly involved in their storm.  It was not enough that He be there with them, asleep, they wanted Him awake and involved.  How this speaks to our own heart these days― we want to see Him― to have an on-going revelation; we want to hear Him― to have His voice ringing in our ears; we want to feel Him― till we have some goose-bumps on our arms, with our hair standing on end.  The flesh realm is not content to just have Him with us "in Spirit," we want much more natural manifestation.  But God is Spirit, and we worship Him in Spirit and truth.
        So they woke Him, and "He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace be still.  And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm." To have instant calm as pertained to the sea, was wonderful, but even more essential was the PEACE which He had to speak into them.  It is significant that when Jesus spoke to the earth elements, He simply said "Be still." But when He speaks to us, He said, "BE STILL, AND KNOW." (Ps. 46:10).  All the foaming, raging waves were made quiet.  They had no ears to hear.  The waves had no minds which could bow in obedience to His Word.  They were but the inanimate creatures of His creation, and He had authority over them.  Yes, the waves are subject to His command, but what do they KNOW?  But God uses all of these storms, without and within, to teach us― that He might reveal Himself in a new and deeper way, so that we KNOW THAT HE IS GOD!  "This is life eternal, that they might KNOW YOU the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." (John 17:3).
        We have experienced the pleasure of sunshine on a clear day, when all is bright and beautiful.  And betimes we have faced the dark gathering storm clouds, and the rainy tears of sorrow.  We know the times of the fierce blowing winds of adversity.  All of these things are purposed and used by our God, and held in balance.  "He's the Master of the sea; billows His will obey." To be sure, there is nothing too hard for Him, No difficulty that He cannot solve.  No question too profound, for HE has the answer.  True, we may not understand His purposes at the time the storm breaks over us, but always, in the ultimate, we will praise Him for the trial He has led us through, as He works it all together for our good― and we come to KNOW HIM as He uses all these things to draw us unto Himself.
        "O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto You? or to Your faithfulness round about You?  You rule the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, YOU STILL THEM." (Psalm 89:8-9).
        Not only does He still the raging thoughts and imaginations, but He also quiets our emotions.  Surgings of fear, rumblings of doubt, raging anger, or pangs of envy, dark moods of depression, loneliness, emptiness, billows of soulish emotion that make it difficult, if not almost impossible, to hear His "still small voice" within.  Yet through it all He exercises His control, and brings us into a realm of true inner peace.
        Yet storms, beloved friend, are just as necessary as the calms.  Were all our days quiet― calm― we would never know the power of our God to meet every emergency, and we would never understand and experience an absolute reliance upon Him.  How storms reveal us to ourselves.  And how blessed is that peace which He imparts in the midst of the storm.  Storms without, and peace within, is a unique combination that works wonders in God's people.
        So the Master stood up and said "PEACE, be still." Immediately the wind ceased and there was a great calm.  It is awesome how suddenly the winds of adversity can cease, when His peace fills our being.  Note the word, a great "CALM," from the Greek "galene." We find it is only used three times, in three different Gospels, and always with reference to the same happening.  Thayer's Lexicon gives the meaning to be "calm, cheerful." What a contrast of emotion― that which was filled with terror, doubt, unbelief, dismay, a sense of calamity, is now quiet and still, with an inner sense of joy and peace.  Borrow the words from Psalm 126:2, "Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing." Raging billows are now replaced with a deep inner cheerfulness, a serenity of spirit that puts a smile on your face, and a melody of praise within.  Thus we read, "That IN ME you might have peace.  In the world you shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33).  Tribulation― or, shall we say, storms of adversity, and yet HE works an inner calm, emanating a divine cheerfulness.  How marvelous!  Peace and good cheer go together!  A divine inworking that redounds to His glory and praise.
        "Peace, be still―" it is not the usual Greek word used for peace, for it is "siopao" and means― to be quiet, hushed, silent; used metaphorically of a calm, quiet sea.  The tranquility, the absence of the roar, the silence that is all the more pronounced because of the cessation of the inner noisy clamor.  So many voices jabbering within, as thoughts go in a whirl, and the imaginations run wild.  Yet Paul experienced, "I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation, - Our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears." (2 Cor. 7:4-5).
        We may have our moments when "at midnight" we "sing praises unto God," (Acts 16:25), and we are joyful in our tribulation, and we experience the explosion of earthquakes which loose us from all our bands, but we find that such triumphant moments do not exempt us from the times when we have "fears within" and we need the Lord to rise up within us and say "Peace, be still." Overcomers are developed by many cycles of storms.
        "Be still." Here the Greek word is "phimoo" meaning: to muzzle, gag.  It was as if Jesus stood up, and said, "PUT A MUZZLE ON IT," and immediately the creation obeyed― the wind ceased and there was a great calm, for a divine "gag order" was placed on it.  The shrieking winds of doubt and despair are silenced when He speaks His word "be still." How awesome is the silence of the Lord, in contrast to the babble of the carnal mind.  Yet little by little we are learning to become quiet before Him, and when the mind is silenced before Him, we share in His peace, in the midst of the storm.  What love, what grace, as He muzzles the carnal pandemonium within.
        It has also been pointed out by one, "Jesus did not say, 'Let us go down to the sea and be drowned,' but, 'Let us pass over to the other side.'" This was an expression of the divine will, had their faith been resting on this WORD from the Master they would not have gotten so disturbed.  Consider how our Lord faced it all― the noise of the storm, the violent pitching of the boat, and the sting of the cold water as it came into the boat, did not awake Him― He knew they were not going down, because Father's will was to go over to the other side.  A clear knowledge of the Father's will does much to give us PEACE in the midst of the storm― if we believe His Word!         The noise of the storm as it roars, howls, whistles, thunders along; with the pitching of the boat that has me almost seasick contemplating it; and then with the boat rapidly filling with water― with our eyes on all these conditions, I can readily identify with the cold dark fear of the disciples that "we will perish." The storm without has entered into my being and now rages within.  Fear lays hold until I am almost too immobilized to try and bail out some of the water.  Besides, it all looks utterly hopeless.  Have we not all had stormy sessions so terrifying that we cannot describe them?  And then the MASTER stands up and puts a muzzle on the storm.  The wind is silenced, and though I strain to hear a sound, not quite believing that the storm is over, yet the divine gag order holds, and there is scarcely a murmur as the gentle waves lap against the sides of the boat.  These evidences that the storm has passed gradually work a tranquility, a change within.
        Nothing is mentioned in the Scripture of how they emptied the boat that was "now full." Methinks it was a task reserved for the disciples, so that as they bent their back to the physical task, a task that needed no miracle, just a submission to the work at hand, they could muse/ponder on how Christ can still the raging waters, and also STILL ALL THE STORM WITHIN.  If we can see it to be so, I find that often times some good physical labor is quite therapeutic, appointed by God for the body, while the mind gradually quiets before Him.  All of the outward happening was/is but an allegory for His inworkings as He works in us both to will and to do of His pleasure.
        Peace― the Hebrew word is "shalom," meaning: peace, completeness.  Here is a word that cannot be defined with just a simple sentence― for not only is peace the cessation from trouble, etc. but it speaks of an inner realm of tranquility because the victory is COMPLETE― no clamoring of desire, no nagging yearning left unfulfilled, but with a sense of completeness, there is no inner agitation, no restlessness because of any lack, but we are made COMPLETE IN CHRIST.  HE is the Source of all our peace, and He but "speaks the word" and victory is manifested.
        In the midst of the raging storm, He stood up, and said these three little words― "Peace, be still." No long discourse blaming the devil for the storm, no words of condemnation and negativity, just a positive word that silenced all the storm.  Truly, as He says in another place, "God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:17).  Therefore, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."
(John 6:63).  What a revelation of the grace and mercy of the Lord!
        The Psalmist also expresses this in a beautiful way― "I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for He will speak peace unto His people, and to His saints: but let them not turn again to folly." (Ps. 85:8).
        Folly― an interesting word, for it comes from the Hebrew word "kislah"
meaning: self-confident.  Any turning to our own self-confidence, and away from the Lord is certainly folly― utterly foolish― for in Christ alone do we find wisdom and understanding that leads us into life.  Trusting in our selves simply sets us up for another storm, until He has purged out all of our self-confidence, turning our hearts to Him, to be anchored only in Him.
        Knox translation reads, "Let me listen, now, to the voice of the Lord God; it is a message of peace He sends to His people; to His loyal servants, that come back, now, with all their heart to Him."
         Turning with all of our heart to the Lord, to listen to the message― OF PEACE.  For as we quote so often, Jeremiah 29:11, "I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."
        Or, as the Amplified gives― "to give you hope in your final outcome."
        "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." (Isa. 8:20).
        No light―literally, the Hebrew reads, no dawn, no morning.  There is a law and testimony, a message from the Lord.  He speaks it within and it becomes a "lamp unto our feet, and a light upon our pathway." It shines as the dawn announcing the new day of the Lord― it is a message of PEACE.  This is not a law written in stone, but upon the tables of our heart as we listen to Him.  In God's disciplined ones the message of peace shines― a light to lighten our darkness, and guide our steps in His way.  But those who have not heard Him say "Peace, be still," will not be able to share this word with another.  There may be some who have heard it with their mental realm and give it a mental assent for a time, but when the storms come lashing their way, whatever measure of peace that they had is swept away.  How we need the quickened word of truth to fill our being until we know that we know that HE IS OUR PEACE!
        The Psalmist gives us a vivid description― as of men on a ship in a storm, battling the waves, "They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end.  Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses." (Ps. 107:26-2)
        We note the phrase, "are at their wit's end." The Hebrew literally reads, "All their wisdom is swallowed up." In their self-confidence they have tried everything they know to do, and have exhausted their skill and their wisdom, until they are staggering around like fools, not knowing what to do― only God can rescue them out of such dire straits.  Then they cry to the Lord― that we can understand― but the wonder of His grace is such that He does not charge them for all their wicked ways, but in mercy "HE BRINGS THEM OUT." Herein do we see the working of reconciliation, "not imputing their trespasses unto them," but with His everlasting love, "we pray you in Christ's stead, be reconciled to God." (2 Cor. 5:19-20).
        The disciples were sorely tried by the storm, and their fears which they readily ignored when the sun was shining, were now exposed for the unbelief that eclipsed their faith.  Yet the noise of the storm did not hinder the message from the Master― His compassions failed not, and He spoke peace.  When the agitations around us increase, the winds blow and howl, though the storm rages on, He brings us into a divine inner calm, and we find that "Great peace have they that love Your law, and nothing shall offend them." (Ps. 119:165).  Herein is one of the purposes for a storm, to learn to just accept all things from His hand and to not be offended because a storm came our way.  There are many applications for the Word, and Matthew 11:6 seems to fit right here.  "Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me." For betimes in spite of our daily praying "not my will, but Yours be done," yet we become perturbed, offended that He would arrange such a storm trial for us.  After all, have we not surrendered our life to Him again and again?  We cry out, It is not fair!  As if this carnal realm of flesh knows what is right.  But after we have been, by His grace, brought through many a storm we learn to hold our peace, muzzle the cries of the flesh, and just let Him have His way within.  And do remember, as goes a line from a hymn...
        "It takes a storm cloud to form a rainbow." It comes not at the beginning of the storm, when the dark, angry clouds appear, but after the storm is over, and His light shines though, that we see the beauty of the Lord.  No chastening (shall we say, storm?) for the present seems to be joyous, it is AFTERWARDS that we see the peaceable fruit of His righteousness.  Then it matters not how long and fierce the storm, within, or without, once God has stilled the tempest, quieted our hearts before Him, and reveals Himself to us in a new and blessed way, we will bow low to worship Him for all His ways.  Truly He is God!  And through all the tempestuous happenings comes a revelation of His love and power, and all earth shall be blessed.  Amen!

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(1) Prinzing, Ray and Doris "Letters of Truth"  Boise, Idaho 83705, P.O. Box 5822

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