Content taken from Good News for Parents by Adam Griffin, ©2025. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

On the wall of my office, I have a print of Gustave Doré’s engraving Jesus Calms the Storm. It’s an amazing work of art that I often consider when I’m feeling anxious and overwhelmed. It depicts the events of Mark 4:35–41, when the disciples are caught in a storm and terrified that they are about to die. In Doré’s piece, the disciples are expressive and dramatic. They are desperate, panic stricken, and distraught with alarm. Jesus, on the other hand, sits calmly at the stern of the boat, totally confident and composed in the middle of the storm. Our seated Savior. I so badly want to be as assured as Jesus. Doré even portrays one disciple as being held back from Christ. We assume he is the one to voice the accusation of Jesus recorded in verse 38: “Do you not care?”

Next to that print in my office hangs another of Gustave Doré’s engravings, an etching of Luke 10:38–42 titled Jesus at the House of Martha and Mary. In this story, a stressed, burdened Martha utters the same question as the overwhelmed disciples did at sea: “Do you not care?” (10:40). She challenges our seated Savior with her anxiety. She is frantic, while her sister is just sitting there.

The disciples on the boat and Martha in her house both confronted Jesus with the same question. It’s one we often pray, either implicitly or explicitly. In frustration, in fear, or in desperation, we ask God, “Are you not concerned about what I’m concerned about?”

On the sea, Jesus said to the storm, “Peace! Be still!” (Mark 4:39). The wind and the waves obeyed him and probably the hearts of his companions too. Honestly, my heart often needs its storm commanded. I need to hear Jesus say to me. “Peace! Settle down. Sit still.” This mind of mine, so muddled with the potential scenarios over which I have no control, needs to be stilled. The peace that Jesus has isn’t because he doesn’t care. He is at peace because he knows he is cared for by the Father. There’s a false relief that says peace will be ours only if we stop caring so much. Care as much as you want! But don’t worry, for as much as you care about your family, your heavenly Father cares even more about you, your spouse, and your children, and he is writing your story.

In Martha’s house, Jesus says to her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary” (Luke 10:41). The reason Martha’s story in particular touches my heart is that it is easy to imagine myself in her shoes needing to hear what she heard. We utter a frantic cry to Jesus, “Aren’t you concerned about what I’m concerned about? Look how hard this is right now!” And what better response could we hope for than to be seen in the way Jesus sees Martha, to hear what Martha heard?

When the burdens, real or imagined, of being a dad have overwhelmed me again, what greater privilege could I hope for than to hear him say my name and then repeat it: “Adam. Adam.” Imagine it for yourself. Amid your concern, the uneasiness that your fear has fostered, Jesus looks at you and says your name. “You are troubled and anxious about so many things,” he says.

You want to be understood at the ground level of your anxious soul. To be seen. To have your disquiet recognized and acknowledged. To be invited by your seated Savior to sit for a time. Hear Jesus’s response. He cares, but he is not concerned. In other words, he is fully aware of what concerns us, but unlike us, he does not fret. Jesus never frets. Jesus is never anxious. Unlike us, he is the one on which everything—everything!—really does depend, and unlike us, he is not worried.

He does not wring his hands hoping for a future that’s not yet settled. What is happening is not too hard for him. He has nothing to fear. Now if he has nothing to fear and if he is with us and will never forsake us, what have we to fear?

Jesus does not just call us out of anxiety; he calls us to something better. What is the one thing Jesus recommends in the midst of troubling anxiety? Sitting and listening to his word. That is what Mary was doing. I am not against working or serving, but it must be done in light of Jesus’s teachings. The word of God is the good news that the human heart needs. Try sitting. Try listening.

Try it right now. Sit down. Settle down. Place your hands in front of you, open and palms up. Hand your concerns to Christ, and listen to him call your name. Breathe deep. “_______, _______, you are troubled and anxious about so many things.” 

Now, hear what Jesus says in John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” Read that again. Sit and listen to his words.

A Prayer for Relief from Anxiety

Heavenly Father, I am troubled and anxious about so many things. My mind is muddled by all that might happen. I am up to my neck in concerns. Pacify my restless heart. Steady my thoughts as you steady my breathing.

Remind me that you care. Remind me that you see me. Remind me that you have me and that no one has wrestled me away from you. Remind me of your presence and how you called me to abide here with you.

I want to sit as calmly as Christ did in the boat. I want to be impervious to this storm. Set me free from the persistent worry of my troubled mind. Clear my vision, and let me see you there guiding me. Help me trust you to lead me through this. Amen.