The Eye of the Storm

When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified. But he said to them, "It is I; don't be afraid." Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

John 6:16-21

Jesus could have commanded the winds and the waves to cease from the mountain where He was praying. I have no doubt that he knew - could possible even see - that His disciples were in trouble in the midst of the storm. Jesus could have calmed the storm from the mountainside. He could have just uttered His word, and all would have been calm. He could have stayed where He was. But instead, He walked out into the middle of the storm. That is the kind of Savior I have! He wasn’t content to perform His miracle from a distance and from the relative safety and security of the mountainside. No, Jesus actually identified with the disciples in the midst of the storm and He went to them walking through the wind and rain. He walked on the water! A miraculous and extraordinary demonstration of His glory and power! But - while filled with glory, Jesus was also a man. I imagine His face and hair wet and His clothes being battered by the winds and waves - but He walked on top of the water, never once even beginning to sink, until He reached His disciples.

I think that - at least in part - what this miracle story teaches me is that I serve a God who is prepared to walk into the very eye of the storm to be with and to rescue His child. There’s something deeply moving that Jesus would actually walk into the storm to reach His disciples, not only to demonstrate His glory and power, but to demonstrate His compassion and His willingness to identify with us in our deepest pain - in our deepest fears - in our deepest troubles. He not only calms in the storm, but He gets in the boat!