You’ve probably had ministry friends who, though facing a big challenge or crisis, remain calm. It’s almost as if they don’t grasp the reality of the situation or how serious it is. And we can even feel a bit envious of their peace.

I was reading something from Fred Smith, the master mentor to many ministry leaders, that got me thinking about this. He related an experience with Dr. Stephen Olford. This American evangelical leader trained many pastors in expository preaching. Billy Graham said of Olford that he was “the man who most influenced my ministry.”

Sitting with a group of prominent pastors, Dr. Olford said, “…when I die, if my family does not say, ‘There is something of God in the man, I will have failed.’”

What does that mean, to have “something of God” in us? Fred Smith listed several attributes that came to his mind as he pondered this:

  • a quiet center that cannot be panicked
  • evidence in the way we speak
  • the quality and breadth of love
  • [a positive] attitude toward death

All good points and all are worth striving for as we live out our leadership and our lives.

The first one caught my attention—a quiet center that cannot be panicked. Do you know people like that, who remain unruffled and strong in their faith while others around them are in turmoil?

Think of the disciples on the Sea of Galilee when the storms were raging, and the waves were crashing. They were in fear while Jesus was calmly asleep in the boat. Here’s the account from Luke 8:

The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm. Then he asked them, “Where is your faith?”

Luke 8:24-25 NLT

Such a graphic picture. The storms above were real. Yet Jesus did not panic. He had that “quiet center” based on the power of God within.

How can you stay calm while the storms of life rage? It doesn’t come by just overlooking the problem. Calmness comes from:

  • placing confidence in an omniscient God.
  • spending time with our heavenly Father to solidify that trust.
  • an understanding that our Lord loves us and will either calm the storm or calm our hearts in the midst of the storm.

An old hymn has the formula for that kind of calmness:
While passing thru this world of sin,
And others your life shall view,
Be clean and pure without, within,

Let others see Jesus in you.
Let others see Jesus in you;
Keep telling the story, be faithful and true,
Let others see Jesus in you.

God’s best,