In 1520 the explorer Ferdinand Magellan battled for a year to find a passage around the tip of South America, encountering some of the worst weather anywhere on earth. Raging seas, towering ice floes, and a mutinous crew plagued his efforts. When he finally got through those straits (now called the Straits of Magellan), he entered a great body of water that lay beyond, and as he and his men gave thanks to God, he named the new ocean the Pacific – the Peaceful One.
Magellan’s story reminds me of that great Biblical truth that life also is a journey – often fraught with struggle and fear. But beyond it is the place of peace our innermost beings tell us we were created for. Jesus came to show us the way to it. ‘Follow me,’ he said, ‘I am leaving you a gift – peace of mind. So don’t be troubled or afraid.’