He Still Walks on WaterSample

Going for a Walk
As we begin Day 3, I have some great news for you: Jesus always walks beside us through our storms. His presence was a lighthouse in my dark days, like a vivid, strong, shining beacon of hope and healing. Regardless of the severity of my circumstances, His presence was a constant, unchanging harbor of peace.

Keeping our eyes on this harbor is essential when facing difficulties—vision moves us forward.

The disciples couldn’t go to where Jesus was on the mountainside; He walked to them on the Sea of Galilee. When we can’t go to Him, He comes to us. When He comes to us in our storm, He comes to us victorious over it.

To appreciate what happened in the pre-dawn hours of that historic night, consider the full picture. The disciples were in the middle of the sea, with wind and waves beating against the boat. Not a modern cruise liner that is three football fields long and can carry hundreds of passengers. Try a small craft about 27 feet long, 7.5 feet wide, and 4.3 feet deep, with enough room for fifteen passengers.

No matter the boat’s size, we know from Scripture that the disciples were sorely afraid of drowning in the raging waters. The Gospel of Mark contains another account of crossing the Sea of Galilee, where the disciples allowed their fear to trump their faith. Chapter 4 describes Jesus and His disciples leaving a crowd behind to cross the lake. As they sailed alongside some other boats, Jesus fell asleep. Verse 37 describes a furious squall coming up, which sent waves crashing over the boat and nearly swamping it. And there lay Jesus, sleeping like a baby.

Mark continues:

The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then, the wind died down, and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” — Mark 4:38–41 (NIV)

To that, I would add, “Wow!” We should all try to place ourselves in the midst of this raging storm. It’s no wonder the disciples were frantic. We’d be right beside them, yelling, “Hey, don’t You see what’s going on out here? We’re gonna die!” It is so easy to feel like God is sleeping during the storms in our lives or to think He is indifferent to our circumstances. The disciples couldn’t take it anymore, so they woke Him up to ask, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” When we take our eyes off what God is doing and put them on our circumstances, the storm will always deceive us and make us believe we are drowning. But Jesus will never allow us to drown.

Fear causes us to forget God’s faithfulness in our lives. Satan will always try to make us forget that God performs miracles and that He has promised us a life of abundance. He will come and try to steal away every victory we have ever had. That is natural because lying springs from his nature. Jesus told the Pharisees: “When he [the devil] speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44). Later, He added, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10, NIV).

Jesus brings abundant life, which is seen in the Mark 4 passage. He awakens, gets up, rebukes the wind, and tells the waves to be still. Jesus can do this because He has authority over creation. When we’re in a storm, we must remember that God can still the waves and calm the winds in the twinkling of an eye. He has already won the victory. We simply need to trust Him . . . Will you?