“Don’t be afraid, I am here!”
John 6:20 (NLT)
The disciples were terrified. Night had set in like a veil of darkness overshadowing their vessel and everything around them. The wind howled and rain lashed at their faces like a stinging whip brandished by some evil force. As the fishermen clutched the sides of their boat, giant waves whipped the lake into a froth of waves so tall and ominous that the disciples feared for their lives. Wind tore at the sides of their vessel, the wooden hull creaking and groaning as wave after wave carried them up, only to let go at the peak of their fear and send them crashing back into the churning waves below. To make matters worse, Jesus had left them. Or so they thought.
It’s easy to trust God’s promises when life is going well, when the lake is still and the sun is shining. But what about those dark nights of the soul when we are pitched around by the storm?
When I was in college, I experienced a dark night of the soul. One morning, as I was reading God’s Word, desperately searching for answers, I came across John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” It was as though a light bulb came on. I realized I had been focused on my fear rather than my Father. I’d been leaning on my own strength instead of leaning on God’s strength and came up short. Without Him, I was a fruitless branch. But in Him, with His nourishment flowing through me, I could not only make it, I could thrive. (Philippians 4:13 THE MESSAGE).
In the midst of the disciples’ darkest night, a shadow emerged. Scripture says the disciples were terrified. Weak-kneed and trembling, they watched as the dark form approached. Suddenly, they realized it was Jesus. Though He wasn’t in the boat, He was with them in the storm. He knew about the rain, the wind, the waves. And He knew about their fear. “Don’t be afraid,” He told them, “I am here!”
His presence makes all the difference.
Thought: “I (Peter) now know where doubt comes from. I know where fear comes from. It does not come from not seeing the storm around me; it comes from not seeing who stands beside me.” – Larry Huntsberger, The Fisherman
For further reading:
- Isaiah 41:10
- Matthew 14:27
- Isaiah 43:1-2
- Joshua 1:9