“O God, thy sea is so great, and my boat is so small.”
Throughout the ages, those words above, or their equivalent, have fallen from the quivering lips of countless believers some time in their lives when the darkness wants to swallow them up.
I have been living through just such a period, and my faith is constantly being tested. Sound familiar?
Uncaring people, unexpected losses, unplanned challenges come as waves on a boiling sea, threatening to swamp our little boats. Such was the case for a group of Christ’s disciples during our Lord’s earthly ministry, as told in John 6:15-20:
“So Jesus … withdrew again to the mountain by Himself, alone … when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them … the sea began getting rough, because a strong wind was blowing. Then … they saw Jesus, walking on the sea and coming near the boat; and they were frightened. But He said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid.’”
His faithful followers were being mercilessly tossed about by wind and waves in the pitch-black darkness and Jesus was seemingly AWOL — or so they thought.
They were terrified. Storms like this could come up suddenly, driven by winds whistling down the valley of the Jordan River, and the towering waves could easily swamp such a small vessel. They were in real and present danger.
How this is like followers of Jesus today — tossed about by life’s fickle circumstances and our Savior is sometimes nowhere to be seen.
Yet, reading on in our story of the disciples, just when all hope was lost, Jesus appears, having carefully followed their plight from the mountain where He was praying. He wasn’t caught by surprise or worried about the eventual outcome in the least.
To Him, winds and waves were minor irritants to be shouted down and dismissed with a word, “Be Still!” But not so with His terrified followers, and so mercifully, compassionately He went out to meet them in their peril.
And just so they would see His unrivaled authority over the elements, He comes to the boat walking on the perilous waters. Speaking words of comfort and assurance, “It is I,” or more correctly in the Greek, “I AM,” Jesus invokes the name of Jehovah God Himself.
And because He is God, He could confidently add, “(therefore) do not be afraid.”
Bible commentator Bill MacDonald writes, “When they realized that it was the Lord Jesus, they welcomed Him into the boat. Immediately they found themselves at their destination. Here another miracle is stated but not explained. They did not have to row any farther. The Lord Jesus brought them to dry land instantly.”
Whether or not we experience instant deliverance from our circumstances, we will always have the unfathomable inner peace in knowing that, with Jesus in our “small boat,” we are assured of having God’s wind in our sails and that we’re headed for the right port.
What a perfect picture of Christ’s present ministry to His followers today. He is always watching and praying, interceding and at times, intervening on our behalf.
Christianity is not a “by and by” faith. It has present value, present benefits as well. The author of the Book of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 7:24-26:
“Jesus, on the other hand because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore, He is also able to save forever those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens …”
Jesus came from eternity, made His earthly sojourn 1,900 years ago, and returned to eternity upon His ascension. He is “exalted above the heavens” today and knows each one of His precious children by name (and even the number of hairs on their head).
The Apostle Paul took great comfort in Christ’s everlasting protection when he wrote in 2 Corinthians 1:9-11, “Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead, who rescued us from so great a danger of death, and will rescue us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us …”
How About You?
Believer, do you think for one second that Jesus, your Shepherd, is oblivious to your plight, or has turned a deaf ear to your cries? Seeker, have you welcomed Jesus into your storm-tossed boat?
— D.C. Collier is a Bible teacher, discipleship mentor and writer focused on Christian apologetics. A mechanical engineer and internet entrepreneur, he is the author of My Origin, My Destiny, a book focused on Christianity’s basic “value proposition.” Click here for more information, or contact him at don@peervalue.com. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.