“When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone.” (John 6:16-22)
Adrift all night in a sea, straining on the oars trying to survive, Jesus’ disciples are overwhelmed until Jesus arrives. Walking to them on the sea, Jesus relieves their fears, removes their storm, and restores their hope.
In this short account of Jesus walking on water, we see four things about Jesus that give us comfort for the storms in our life.
- Jesus comes to those in a storm. The disciples did not have to find Jesus. Instead, Jesus found them. This is incredibly comforting – when a storm rolls into your life, Jesus rolls in to help you in it.
- Jesus is bigger than the storm. The storm was bigger than the disciples could handle, but Jesus was bigger than their storm. The same is true for you.
- The supernatural is bigger than the natural. The disciples faced a natural disaster of sorts that threatened to end their life. But, their supernatural God showed up and displayed His authority as Creator over His creation. How comforting is it to know that Jesus has supernatural power and can do anything that He wants without any power able to thwart His will?
- Jesus can deliver from danger. Not only did Jesus arrive in the crisis, he brought an end to the storm and caused the boat to return safely to shore. This is the hope for our lives and all of human history for God’s people. To be sure, this world is one big storm that takes our energy, presses our anxiety, and blows us off course. The good news is that Jesus will get us to an eternally peaceful dock because He came to save us as He did the disciples at sea.
Is there anything right now that is beyond you and you need to invite Jesus to save you from?