The Barometer Of Your Soul

Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

Have you ever heard someone predict a storm by the onset of achy joints, back pain, or a throbbing headache? Imagine a seasoned farmer standing on the edge of his freshly plowed field, commenting, “Storm’s brewing—I can feel it in my bones.” Hours later, rain is falling, thunder is offering a round of applause, and lightning is piercing the darkened sky.

I’m not a farmer or a meteorologist, but almost every time there’s a significant change in the weather, I experience a headache that makes my head feel like a lemon being squeezed.

There’s a scientific reason some people can feel weather changes within their bodies. The culprit is barometric pressure. When pressure changes cause sudden shifts in weather patterns, many people experience a bodily response. I can’t help but think how the same is true for our souls.

When the pressure of life escalates and our inner gauge senses a storm is brewing, we feel it on the inside and the outside. We watch storm clouds barrel toward us in the form of an upcoming surgery, a difficult career decision, an unwanted move, or the end of a relationship. Our bodies shift, along with our hearts and souls, as we brace for the storm. Our shoulder muscles become tangled knots, our chests tighten like an unrelenting lid on a jar of spaghetti sauce, and our heads throb with unmitigated tension. Our flesh and bones signal to our brains that the pressure is rising and we need a safe place to shelter in the storm.

The Gospel of Mark records a windstorm that swept over the Sea of Galilee. Prior to the storm, Jesus and his disciples got on a boat to cross to the other side. While on the boat, Jesus fell asleep on a cushion. Mark writes, “A great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling” (Mark 4:37). The disciples, filled with panic, woke Jesus from his nap. Jesus rebuked the wind saying, “Peace! Be still!”

Immediately, the wind stopped. According to Mark, “There was a great calm” (verse 39).

Can you picture the disciples running around scooping water out of the boat, their bodies tense and their minds flooded with fear, while Jesus slept peacefully? When the pressure rose, the disciples’ unbelief was exposed. They believed this storm would be the end of them. Jesus, instead, ended the storm.

If Christ can rest during a storm, so can we. If he could sleep without fear in his fully human body, with his muscles relaxed and his mind at ease, so can we.

When the pressures of life rise, we don’t have to cower in fear of the impending storm. Instead, we can rest in our Savior, who is not surprised by the trials we face and who has all power and authority to calm the raging seas. Just as he carried the disciples safely from one side of the lake to the other, so he will carry you.

Word before World When the pressures of life build, the safest place to be is in Christ.

Grow in Grace When sorrow and trials come, cry out to Jesus, who has the power to calm the raging seas, including the ones raging in your soul.