Swimming with the Sharks

Swimming with the sharks is what life can feel like when fear, pressure, and uncertainty close in around us. This article shows how resting in God’s presence gives us a peace that even life’s biggest threats lose their power.

If you believe that you face your challenges in the Lord—in the presence, the name, the protection of the Lord—then you can be full of joy because you are full of the Lord.

In the mid-1970s, Steven Spielberg produced a movie called Jaws, the fictional story of a monster shark that made a meal out of the swimmers off the New England coastline. One iconic scene involves a crusty boat captain, the police chief, and a scientist. They set off on the captain’s fishing boat in search of the shark. No one had seen it before. When these three men did, they nearly fell over in fright. The police chief delivered one of the most famous lines in cinema history: “You’re gonna need a bigger boat!”

Their craft was no match for the threat. Suppose that the three men had been riding in a larger vessel: the Seawise Giant. It was the largest ship ever built, more than four football fields in length. It weighed more than 564,000 tons. If the three men had seen the giant shark from the deck of the oil tanker, their reaction would have been different. They would have noticed the shark, talked about it, maybe taken pictures of it. But would they have feared it as they did in the smaller vessel? No. They would have felt safe in a large vessel.

The sea of life is swimming with sharks. They attack, gouge, and devour. But they cannot destroy you. Why? Because you are on the vessel called Living God. You are safe in His hands, established in His plans, and sustained in His grace.

If you believe you face your problems alone, you will never find deep and lasting peace. On the other hand, if you believe that you face your challenges in the Lord—in the presence of the Lord, in the name of the Lord, in the power of the Lord, in the protection of the Lord—then you can be full of joy because you are full of the Lord.

Jesus offers this assurance: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27 NKJV).

Jesus contrasts two types of peace—the peace the world offers and the peace He offers.

The peace the world offers depends upon circumstance. If the weather is right. If the traffic is light. If the stock market is up. If the cholesterol numbers are down. If the spouse is happy. If the flight is on time. If. If. If. If.

Is your peace an if peace?

Exchange if peace for His peace.

“My peace I give to you.”

Jesus offers His peace! To be clear, He doesn’t offer a peace like His. He offers His very own peace!

I saw an image of peace-giving in Chicago O’Hare. The airport atmosphere was anything but peaceful. Thunder was audible outside. The tension was palpable inside. The hour was late, and we passengers were not happy. Unless the sky cleared, we’d be searching for hotel rooms and next-day flights.

Oh, the grumbling.

I was doing my share. Airport food again? Grrr.

Everyone was upset. Well, almost everyone. I heard someone singing. Seated a few feet away was a mother and her infant. A blanket covered the nursing child. It was clear to me that the calmest person in the sitting area was a baby, only a few months old.

The child had peace because the child had a mother. The baby had the peace of the mother—the warmth of the mother’s body, the nourishment of the mother’s milk, the comfort of the mother’s song, the assurance of the mother’s presence. Yank the child from the arms of the mom, fear would erupt. But since the child was near the mother, the baby was the calmest person in the airport.

As you envision the airport scene, are you more like the frantic, anxious travelers or the resting infant?

God longs to give us what the mom gave that child. His warmth. His nourishment. His assurance. We can have the peace of Jesus. We can uproot thoughts of catastrophe and replace them with truths like this one: “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts” (Philippians 4:7 NKJV).

When your heart needs peace, trust God.

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Excerpted from Tame Your Thoughts: Three Tools to Renew Your Mind and Transform Your Life by Max Lucado. Copyright © 2025 by Thomas Nelson Books. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. ThomasNelson.com.

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