“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, 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.
Then, 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. Surely, they were doomed. Suddenly, they realized it was Jesus. Though He wasn’t with them 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!”
He has not left you to fight this storm alone. He is in the midst. He sees you. He hears you. He has not brought you this far just to abandon you. He is and will be with you every step of the way.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for your continual presence. Though at times the waves impede my sight, I rest in the promise that you are with me. You are in the midst. Amen.
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