October 5, 2025 "Anchored in Peace" Mark 4:35-41 Rev. Dr. Rhonda Abbott Blevins

Anchored in Peace

Mark 4:35-41

Rev. Rhonda Abbott Blevins

October 5, 2025

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37 A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And waking up, he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Be silent! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 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?”

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If you remember this old campfire song, I invite you to sing it along with me:

I’ve got peace like a river,

I’ve got peace like a river,

I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.

I’ve got peace like a river,

I’ve got peace like a river,

I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.

LIARS! 

Now there may be some exceptions among us, but by and large, our generation is not marked by a widespread peace within the populace.

I suggest that the more honest lyric might be:

I’ve got anxiety like an inferno,

I’ve got anxiety like an inferno,

I’ve got anxiety like an inferno in my soul . . .

Don’t you think that’s more descriptive of most people in the Western world in 2025?

We by and large, are an anxious people and we live in anxious days. I learned a word a couple of years ago—an acronym to be exact—that describes the times we live in: “VUCA”—volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. This acronym was first introduced by the U.S. Army War College in 1987 to describe the complex and unpredictable environment following the end of the Cold War. It’s been appropriated by business leaders and sociologists to describe the quite constant state of anxiety in which we live.

In my newsletter article for the Chapel Chimes, our monthly newsletter, I introduce another word that sociologists have developed to describe these crazy times. Here’s what I wrote:

If you’re like me, you have a growing sense that the ground beneath our feet is shifting.

Some sociologists tell us that what we’re experiencing is a “polycrisis”—a web of interconnected crises that some believe is civilization-wide. Think of the myriad problems humanity is facing: climate change, ecosystem collapse, global pandemics, violent conflict, economic stagnation, unaffordable costs of living, food and energy scarcity, weakened institutions, systemic inequality, and the breakdown of democracies around the world. Most scholars contend that we are living through an epochal shift. I tend to agree. Not that I’m some learned sociologist—I just feel it in my bones. How about you?

Well, do you?? Feel it in your bones?

Into the polycrisis, into these VUCA times, into the inferno of the constant anxiety many of us feel just trying to be human in 2025, we hear the words of our Savior:

“Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”

To be fair, these are the words Jesus spoke to the disciples who were with him on a sailboat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. Mark describes the scene: it was evening; Jesus was asleep in the stern of the boat when a volatile windstorm arose. The boat was being tossed around by the waves and apparently taking on a great amount of water. Can you picture the scene? The disciples furiously holding on, using whatever they could find to scoop water out of the boat—their irritation rising to the level of all out anger as they thought about Jesus sleeping like a baby in the stern. So they woke Jesus up to rebuke him:

“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

Do you not care that we are perishing?

How very . . . human of them. How very . . . human of us when we look around at our world in the middle of this polycrisis—

climate change, ecosystem collapse, global pandemics, violent conflict, economic stagnation, unaffordable costs of living, food and energy scarcity, weakened institutions, systemic inequality, the breakdown of democracies

—how very . . . human of us to imagine that God does “not care that we are perishing.” How very . . . human of us to think that God or faith is irrelevant for the living of these days, or that God is missing in action, when the fact of the matter is that GOD IS IN THE BOAT WITH US!

Friends, in these VUCA days—in the ongoing polycrisis that shows no signs of letting up—our faith is the greatest tool in our toolbelt for weathering the current storms we face as a culture.

Back to the disciples, irritated—no, angry—approaching Jesus to rebuke him:

“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

Jesus immediately calms the storm, and returns his own rebuke to the anxious disciples:

“Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”

And if . . . if we can hear Jesus speak across the ages . . . across all the ages that have seen people anxious and afraid . . . if we listen with our hearts, maybe we can hear Jesus ask us the very same thing he asked the disciples in that boat so long ago:

“Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”

The invitation today is simple: I invite you to exchange your fear for faith and your anxiety for agency.

What might it look like for us to exchange our fear for faith and our anxiety for agency?

Let’s continue with the sailboat metaphor. When you’re on a sailboat in the middle of a great body of water, you can’t control the weather, you can’t control the wind, you can’t control the waves. There is much you can’t control when you’re on a sailboat in the middle of a great body of water. Not being able to control the storms, whether literal or societal or political—not being able to control the storms may make us despondent or angry or anxious. When those feelings arise, it is helpful to remember: there is simply much we cannot control. The serenity prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr is so helpful toward this end:

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change
the courage to change the things I can
and the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time,
enjoying one moment at a time.
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as he did, the sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it.
Trusting that he will make all things right
if I surrender to His will;
that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
and supremely happy with Him forever.

Even as we work toward trying to accept the things we cannot change, we must simultaneously remember that there are things we can change, just like on a sailboat. On a sailboat, you can’t change the weather, but there are at least two things you can control, two pieces of equipment that you can trust, two things you can adjust to help you weather the storms that might arise. What are those two things? The sails and the rudder.

And in this metaphorical boat we’re in together in these VUCA times, we can trade our anxiety for agency. There are evidence-based ways we can “adjust our sails” and “direct our rudder” so that we might know more peace and less anxiety.

ADJUSTING OUR SAILS

Adjusting our sails might look like adjusting—limiting—our media consumption. Look, we all know we’re glued to our screens more than we’d like to admit. But here’s what the research is telling us: people who spend excessive time consuming news report significantly higher levels of anxiety and physical ailments compared to those who limit their media intake.[1] And get this—when people watched just fourteen minutes of negative news, they showed immediate increases in both anxious and sad moods.[2] The 24-hour news cycle isn’t just annoying; it’s literally making us sick. The constant barrage of negativity puts us in a state of high alert, triggering stress responses in our bodies and minds.[3] So when we talk about adjusting our sails by limiting media consumption, we’re not just talking about a nice spiritual practice—we’re talking about something that can genuinely improve our mental and physical health. Setting some boundaries around our news and social media isn’t weakness; it’s wisdom.

Now that you’re spending less times consuming negative media, you’ve freed up some time to adjust your sails to spend more time in spiritual practice like prayer, meditation, and service. Research has found that people who practice spiritual meditation show decreases in anxiety and stress, and they were even able to tolerate pain almost twice as long.[4] Other studies found that people who pray expectantly are significantly less likely to experience anxiety-related disorders—including worry, fear, social anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive behavior.[5] And here’s something encouraging: research shows that when people combine both prayer and meditation in their spiritual practice, they experience even greater reductions in anxiety and depression than those who practice either one alone.[6]

Studies have also shown that volunteering leads to lower rates of depression and anxiety, especially for people 65 and older, by reducing stress and increasing positive feelings.[7] In a major study tracking nearly 70,000 people over 18 years, researchers found that those who volunteered at least once a month reported significantly better mental health than those who volunteered infrequently or not at all.[8] When we serve others, we’re not just helping them—we’re literally rewiring our brains for greater peace and wellbeing.

DIRECTING OUR RUDDERS

In addition to adjusting our sails, we can redirect our rudders, point ourselves in new directions.

Directing our rudder might look like turning toward community. Research from a large household survey found that people who reported a positive sense of community had significantly lower odds of experiencing depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms.[9] In a seven-year study of war veterans, those with higher levels of social support had decreased risk of both depression and anxiety disorders.[10] The truth is, we weren’t made to weather life’s storms alone. When we join a small group, show up for community events, or spend regular time with people who care about us, we’re literally protecting our mental health. Community isn’t a luxury; it’s a lifeline.

Directing our rudder might look like steering toward positive thinking, especially gratitude. A major study found that people who practiced gratitude interventions had significantly better mental health—less anxiety and depression.[11] Experiments show that people who do the “three good things” exercise—thinking of three positive moments each day—see considerable improvements in depression and overall happiness, sometimes in as little as a couple weeks.[12] When we intentionally notice what’s good, we’re not being naïve or dismissing real problems. We’re training our brains to see the whole picture instead of fixating only on what’s broken. Research suggests gratitude and anxiety can’t coexist—when we focus on moments of joy and thankfulness, there’s simply less mental space for worry to take hold.[13]

I believe it’s thankfulness that empowered Horatio Spafford to write the lyrics to “It Is Well With My Soul.”

In 1873, Spafford planned to travel with his wife and four daughters from Chicago to England. Business matters delayed him, so he sent his family ahead on the ship Ville du Havre. Mid-Atlantic, the ship collided with another vessel and sank in just twelve minutes. His wife survived, but all four of their daughters perished. She cabled him two devastating words: "Saved alone."

Spafford immediately boarded a ship to join his grieving wife. When his vessel passed near the spot where his daughters had died, the captain called him to the bridge to tell him. There, in the midst of unimaginable grief, sailing over the watery grave of his children, Spafford penned words that have anchored countless souls in their own storms: “When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll—whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.”

Friends, Spafford didn’t deny his sorrow. He acknowledged the sea billows rolling over him. But in the same breath, he declared a deeper truth—a peace that transcends circumstances, an anchor that holds even when everything else gives way.

This is the invitation Jesus extends to us today: “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” Not faith that the storms will cease, but faith that God is in the boat with us. Faith that we can adjust our sails and direct our rudder even when we can’t control the wind. Faith that, whatever our lot, we can learn to say: it is well with my soul.

So in these VUCA times, in the midst of our polycrisis, may we exchange our fear for faith and our anxiety for agency. May we practice the daily rhythms that anchor us in peace, things like limiting our media exposure, taking up prayer and/or meditation, engaging in service, turning toward community, taking up a practice of gratitude. Pick one of these adjustments and practice it this week. And as we do so, may we discover, as countless saints before us have discovered, that the One who calms the storm is the same One who holds us steady when the waves keep crashing.

[1] https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/media-excess-mental-health

[2] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/imperfect-spirituality/202209/excessive-news-consumption-may-harm-mental-and-physical-health

[3] https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/media-excess-mental-health

[4] https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/the-science-of-prayer-2.html

[5] https://psychcentral.com/blog/new-study-examines-the-effects-of-prayer-on-mental-health

[6] https://nymentalhealthcenter.com/benefits-of-prayer-and-meditation-on-mental-health/

[7] https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/3-health-benefits-of-volunteering

[8] https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_volunteering_can_help_your_mental_health

[9] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10314672/

[10] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9560615/

[11] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10393216/

[12] https://namica.org/blog/the-impact-of-gratitude-on-mental-health/

[13] https://elliementalhealth.com/the-power-of-gratitude-neuroscience-and-practice-tips/