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.
Mark 4:39
In the summer of 2004 I was 6 miles outside of Fallujah. In the spring the terrorists had captured some American contractors, burned their bodies, drug them through the streets behind a pick up truck, and then hung their bodies from a bridge. The response of the American forces was swift. The terrorists needed to know that those sorts of actions were unacceptable and the perpetrators needed to be apprehended. That was the plan. But that’s not how things went. So having repelled or at least stalled the American forces, the terrorists were emboldened and controlled Fallujah all summer.
That means frequent attacks on our base. That means ten minutes before my alarm goes off a couple mornings a week there’s a thud...thud...thud followed by subsequent explosions and base-wide sirens going off. This means that the base is going to be on lock down for a little while. This means the chow hall is closed for breakfast. This means no coffee. No food until lunch. We are expected to wear our protective gear which doesn’t breathe. It’s Iraq in the middle of the summer. It’s hot. There’s no air conditioning. The consistently sporadic attacks are taking their toll mentally and emotionally.
One of my higher ups breaks. He goes out into the middle of an open space and starts yelling and screaming. He’s yelling at the heavens. He’s yelling at the ground. He’s frustrated and at a loss that he’s not in control. Everything is uncomfortable. At any moment we could get attacked again and his life could be over. He may never see his wife again. There’s nothing he can do about it. All of his yelling at the sky isn’t going to stop the next rocket from coming. The sky isn’t going to listen. All of his yelling at the ground isn’t going to stop the next mortar from exploding. The ground isn’t going to listen.
But that’s not the case with Jesus. He is in control. The wind and the sea do listen to Him. When life is tossing you to and fro, God is holding you. You are anchored to Christ. He’s got it all under control.
Rev. Adam Stetson ’11
Christ Lutheran Church