You do what you were asked to do, and now you find yourself in deep trouble. On top of it, the one who initially asked you to follow their wishes is now nowhere to be found. You feel abandoned, and the situation is getting much worse, even perilous. What do you do? This was the situation that the disciples found themselves in our Gospel passage for today.
As our Scripture begins, Jesus had just performed a miracle by feeding over 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish along the shores of the Sea of Galilee. He then instructed His disciples to get into the boat and cross to the other side while He would say good-bye to the crowds and send them home. Afterwards, Jesus went off, up the hillside to have some quiet time and pray (vs. 45-46).
Meanwhile, the twelve disciples had set off in the large fishing boat to cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, to Bethsaida which was the hometown of Peter and his brother Andrew, along with Philip. While traveling, a storm came up upon the lake, sending waves crashing, and tossing the boat around. Several of the disciples were seasoned fishermen, including Peter, Andrew, James, and John, having worked in that job all of their lives. They had undoubtedly been in many storms. No matter how hard they rowed, seeking to get to shore, any shore, the winds were against them (vs. 47).
What was going through their minds at this time? If I had been in the boat then I might have been thinking that we did what the Lord had instructed, so why are problems now occurring? I’d be wondering why Jesus wasn’t with us when we needed Him. He usually was, but not this time, right when a big storm came up. I might be feeling abandoned. Where is Jesus when I really need Him?
As we continue reading, we see that Jesus was high on a mountain in prayer to the Father. While there, He looked out onto the Sea of Galilee below, and saw the disciples struggling with the boat as the wind tossed them around (vs. 48). Jesus was watching them. They were not out of His sight, nor out of His mind. Jesus saw them and He cared about them in their need, just as He cares about us in our time of need.
Jesus came down from His prayers and came walking on the water to His disciples and friends. The Savior didn’t just walk on water at this time. This was a wild and potentially deadly storm, yet Jesus walked freely on the water. He was trampling on chaos!
When Jesus got to them, He reassured them not to be afraid. He got into the boat with them, and the storm then ceased (vs. 48-51). Sometimes when life gets messy, it can feel like Jesus has gone missing. Even when our storms cause us to lose sight of hope, Jesus never loses sight of us. He doesn’t run from our messes. He climbs in to be right there with us. With His presence comes peace.
We may feel alone and abandoned when God sends us into some period of our life, where the future looks dark and we can’t sense God’s presence. Dark times are harder then. Jesus will come to us just as He did to the disciples. He promised He would not leave them as orphans. He would come to them (John 14:18). He loves us. Jesus walked through death and resurrection for us. Jesus will not desert us now. He is watching over us, and will come to us in our hour of need.
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