But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid. John 6:20 KJV
Many of us have watched a movie where there was a storm.
One so severe that there was a great deal of thunder and lightning going on.
There are individuals sitting in a room and suddenly, the lights go out.
It is extremely dark.
They begin to look for a candle or something to put light back in the room.
The next time lightning strikes, the light shows a figure standing in the doorway that wasn’t there before.
Still dark enough that it was hard for anyone to know who it was.
Scaring all the people in the room.
The individual takes a step forward, the picture then becomes clearer, and they see that it is someone they know.
They are relieved and welcomed them in.
In this passage, a scary moment happened to the disciples; except they were at sea (Read John 6:15-21).
They had entered their ship and got on the sea heading to Caperhaum.
It was dark and they were all alone. Jesus was not with them.
The wind was so high, and the waves of the sea were so rapid that the ship kept bouncing up and down.
The disciples continued to row, trying to get to shore.
“When they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs [about 3-4 miles out], they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship; and they were afraid” (v.18).
Who wouldn’t be scared?
Knowing that we were in a boat, in rough water, and suddenly see a figure “walking on the waters”, not in another boat, heading our way.
The Lord calmed the disciples when they saw Him by saying, “It is I, don’t be afraid” (v.20 NIV).
They realized who He was and with no more problems the ship safely made it to land (v.21).
Just like the disciples, we never know what might come with our storms.
There may be clouds and darkness around us.
We may begin to question God’s goodness and faithfulness towards us.
Then suddenly, something begins to happen, the Lord steps in and speaks to us.
Telling us not to be afraid, that He is with us.
He always steps in right on time.
Shattering all our doubts and fears.
We don’t have to worry or be anxious about anything.
It is a powerful, comforting thing to hear the Lord tell us, “It is I, don’t be afraid” (v.20 NIV).
That He is always there working to make sure things go well in our lives.
That we make it safely to the shore.
A WORD OF PRAYER
Savior, even when there are storms in our lives, You are there. Showering us with Your powerful, comforting presence. One that shows us that we don’t have to be afraid, because You are with us. Thank You. We couldn’t make it without You.
In Jesus Name We Pray, Amen