Finding True Rest When the Tremors Come

By Roger Dye

We have all been there. It’s a Tuesday evening. You’ve had a long day at work, the traffic was heavy, and you walk through the door only to trip over a pile of shoes. Suddenly, you snap. You are terse with your spouse; you are short with your children. In a matter of seconds, your sense of calm evaporates.

In that moment, we usually blame the shoes, the traffic, or the noise. But if we are honest, the problem isn’t the noise. The problem is the foundation.

There is a radical, counter-cultural prayer that changes how we view these moments of stress. It says:

“Lord, Thank You for the things that break my peace, because every time something breaks my peace… it is an indicator that my peace is built on something besides You.”

This sounds backward, doesn’t it? Why would we thank God for stress? Because that unsettled feeling is actually a mercy. It is a “dashboard light” warning us that we have drifted from the Rock and set up camp on the sand.

1. The Diagnosis: Why Do We Feel So Shaken?

Scripture is clear: there are two types of peace. There is the peace the world gives, and there is the peace Jesus gives.

John 14:27 (ESV): “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.”

The “peace of the world” is based on circumstance. It relies on everything going right: the bank account is full, the health report is clean, and the kids are behaving. When those things are in place, we feel secure.

But this peace is fragile. When we rely on it, we are essentially building our house on the sand. As Jesus warned in Matthew 7, when the rains fall and the winds blow against that house, it falls.

When you feel that sudden spike of anxiety or that flash of anger, it is often because a “Tremor of Circumstance” has hit your life:

• The Tremor of Control: A schedule change ruins your plan for the day.
• The Tremor of Approval: A coworker makes a critical remark.
• The Tremor of Security: An unexpected bill drains your savings.

If your peace shatters when these tremors hit, it reveals that your trust was resting on your own ability to control your world, rather than on God.

2. The Mercy of the Shaking

It is uncomfortable to realize our faith isn’t as strong as we thought. But God, in His grace, does not leave us in that delusion. He allows the stress. He allows the shaking.

Why? To move us.

The writer of Hebrews tells us that God shakes the things that can be shaken, so that “the things that cannot be shaken may remain”. If God allowed you to be perfectly at peace while relying on money or your own performance, you would never seek Him. You would settle for a “false peace” that eventually leads to destruction.

The stress you feel is not God abandoning you; it is God reminding you—calling you—to seek His peace, not yours. As the Westminster Confession reminds us, God sometimes leaves us to feel the “poverty of our own hearts” so that we will be humbled and run back to Him for support. The “breaking of your peace” is a call to refocus.

3. The Trap of “Trying Harder” vs. The Invitation to Rest

When we realize we are stressed and irritable, our instinct is often to “do better.” We grit our teeth. We try to be nicer. We try to manage our time better. In theological terms, we drift toward a “performance mindset”—thinking that if we just work harder, we can secure our own peace.

But this only leads to more exhaustion. God does not call you to “try harder.” He calls you to return.

Matthew 11:28 (ESV): “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Notice the requirement? You must be “heavy laden.” You must recognize your need for His peace. The cure for your stress isn’t a better schedule; it is a Person. It is realizing that even though your plans have failed, God’s steadfast love has not.

Isaiah 26:3 (ESV): “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

4. Practical Steps: Moving from Panic to Shalom

So, how do we apply this when we are standing in the kitchen, feeling the stress rise?

1. Pause and Thank Him. When the anxiety hits, stop. Literally pray, “Lord, Thank You for this stress. It is showing me that I was trying to control this situation instead of trusting You.”
2. Name the “Tremor.” Ask yourself: What specifically is threatened right now? Is it my reputation? Is it my comfort?
3. Confess the Idol. Is it my illusion of control? Confess that you have been treating that thing as your “god” or source of safety.
4. Re-Anchor in the Rock. Quote Psalm 62 aloud: “For God alone my soul waits in silence… He alone is my rock and my salvation… I shall not be greatly shaken.”

Remind yourself that while your circumstances (the sands) are shifting, you’re standing on God (the Rock) who is immovable.

Conclusion

When you are feeling broken, stressed, or terse, take heart. You have not lost your faith—you are being invited to deepen it. The world promises peace through the absence of trouble. Jesus promises peace in the midst of trouble.

Let the shaking do its work. Let it knock down the false supports of your life so you can collapse into the arms of the One who has overcome the world. That is where you will find rest. That is where you will find Shalom.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the things that break my peace, because every time something breaks my peace, causes me stress, makes me feel unsettled, it is an indicator that my peace is built on something besides You. It is a clear and definite call to refocus on You as the only true source of peace. My peace is fragile, but Your peace is steadfast.