11th-17th August 2025
Have you ever been on a plane flying through a storm? I used to travel regularly to London in my previous job, back in the day when British Midland was still an airline. It ceased trading in 2012 – I’m showing my age now! Anyway, last week I was returning home from holidays and flew into Belfast International Airport during Storm Floris. I must admit I had some concerns as we approached home and the sky turned grey and the plane began to shake with turbulence.
If you’ve been in such a situation, you know what happens next … you clutch the armrest and look around, noticing how everyone else responds – some calm, some anxious, perhaps some whispering prayers. In that moment, you realize something profound: you have no control. You can’t stop the storm, and you can’t fly the plane. You have to trust the pilot to take you through the storm.
Life often feels like that, doesn’t it? Storms of hardship, grief or uncertainty roll in unexpectedly, shaking our sense of security. We lose our footing, fear creeps in and we’re faced with the sobering truth, we are not in control. The question then becomes: who do we trust?
In the storms of life, God is our Pilot. He’s not surprised by the turbulence or the storm clouds. He sees beyond what we can see. He knows the flight plan. Trusting God doesn’t mean that the storm is all of a sudden going to stop and we never have to experience it. It means we trust and believe that our Heavenly Father, in all his wisdom, love and care for us, is capable of guiding us through whatever storm we are experiencing.
Jesus’ disciples once found themselves in a literal storm (Mark 4:35-41). As waves crashed over their boat, they panicked, thinking they would die. But Jesus was asleep. That’s right, he was asleep, because he wasn’t afraid and knew what was about to happen. When the disciples woke him up because of their fear, he calmed the storm with just a word. “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” was what he asked and surely that question still echoes in our ears today. Why are we so afraid? Do we still have no faith?
Storms reveal where we place our trust. Do we rely on our own strength, or do we lean on the creator and sustainer of all things, the one who can even command the winds? Trusting God in turbulent times doesn’t mean pretending we are not afraid. Fear is a normal response to the unknown for many. What it does mean is that we turn to God in the fear. It means choosing faith over panic, trust over doubt, unknown over known. Peace isn’t found in calm circumstances; it is however found in Christ, when we recognise that we are seen, known and loved, even in the seeming chaos of our circumstances.
When turbulence hits, take time to breathe, pray and remind yourself who is in control. God has brought you this far and his promise is to never leave you or abandon you in the storm. You may not know when the storm will pass, but you can know who is with you in the storm. So, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and remember he is the anchor that holds you steadfast and secure.
Written by David Mairs
MONDAY
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Mark 4:35–41
Heavenly Father, help me to trust that you are with me in every storm. Even when you seem silent, remind me that you’re in control and help me to leave all worry of life with you. Amen.
TUESDAY
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Psalm 46:1–3
Heavenly Father, when the ground beneath me feels unsteady and my next steps unsure, remind me that you are my unshakeable refuge and firm foundation. Help me run to you first when I am feeling overwhelmed. Be my strength when I feel weak, tired and worn down. Thank you for being ever-present in every trouble I face. I love you. Amen.
WEDNESDAY
But now, this is what the Lord says, he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. Isaiah 43:1–2
Heavenly Father, I feel like the waves are high and the water is rising all around me. But you have promised to be with me in the flood, not just after it passes. Help me sense your presence with me today in a real and tangible way, help me to lean on your promise and the assurance that it gives me, help me to remember you are always faithful and true to your word. Remind me that the deep waters I am sensing will never overwhelm me, because you are holding me, your loving arms are around me and I can rest in your embrace. Thank you, Father. Amen.
THURSDAY
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6–7
Prayer: Jesus, replace my anxiety with your peace. Guard my heart and mind as I trust you.
Heavenly Father, sometimes my heart is filled with anxiety and fear and peace is hard to find. Help me to lay all my anxious thoughts before you and not pick them up again. Teach me how I can bring every worry to you in prayer, trusting you to carry the weight for me. Replace my stress with your peace that goes beyond my understanding as I trust you and thank you for being with me. May your peace guard my heart and my mind today. Amen.
FRIDAY
Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Matthew 14:22–33
Heavenly Father, I sometimes see myself in Peter, full of faith one moment and full of fear the next. I want to step out in trust and walk with confidence where you call me to but sometimes the storms around me can be so loud, so overwhelming, so distracting that I forget you are the one who is calling me to follow you each day.
Forgive me, Lord, for the times I’ve looked at the storm more than at you. Strengthen my faith when it feels fragile. Reach out and hold me when I start to sink beneath the weight of worry or fear. Thank you for being a Saviour who does not wait for me to have perfect faith, but who comes close in my weakness. Teach me to trust and, even when I falter, may every step I take be guided by the confidence and assurance that you are near. Amen.
SATURDAY
“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 34:17–19
Heavenly Father, thank you that you hear me when I cry out to you. There is such a comfort in knowing this truth. In the moments when my heart grows faint within, when the darkness overwhelms, when I sense my fears are pressing in, it is in these moments that I need to trust in you and be reminded that you are close to me. Help me to rest in the nearness of your presence today. Amen.
SUNDAY
“The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.”
Nahum 1:7
Heavenly Father, you are my safe place in the storms of life. You are a good God, unchanging, faithful, caring and kind. In times of trouble, when life feels heavy and uncertain, you remain my place of safety. Thank you for being my refuge when I am feeling overwhelmed, my shelter when the storms are raging around me. I don’t always understand what you are doing or why I am going through this experience, but I choose to trust you, knowing that ultimately you care for me and love me completely. Strengthen my trust in you today and help me to rest in your care. Amen.