¹⁶When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, ¹⁷where 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. ¹⁸A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. ¹⁹When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. ²⁰But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” ²¹Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

If I asked you about storm stories I am guessing everyone has had a scary experience. I was leading a group of about 16 High Schoolers from our church down a river in Wisconsin with a planned overnight. All went well. We were going to stay at a campground, but we got there early and it looked rather full, so we continued unaware of a horrible storm coming up. In fact, just after we left, officials came in and evacuated the campgrounds. As we went further down the river, I noticed behind me black clouds started developing. I suggested to our sponsors we find a spot as soon as possible, but none seemed to open at the bank. Then large drops started to fall. I was concerned about the youth and told one canoe to stop at this bend, and I would go around to the other bend to see if that site would work. Rain came hard. They yelled and said there would be room, but it was up on the hill. That was okay with me. The current was going fast enough, I with two others in the canoe could not get back to shore. Two guys came to help rescue us. One hung onto a tree and held the other who went into the water. He reached out for my paddle and we were able to be pulled in.

The rain was coming in a downpour. I tied the canoe to a tree and carried tarps and tents up onto the hill. The wind started increasing. Smaller tents blew down so we had two larger tents with people holding on to the poles to keep it up. When I finally got inside, everything was drenched. I had my swimming suit wrapped up in a towel, which was the only dry thing I had.

It was quite a storm with little sleep. In the morning, we saw the river had risen six feet. All the places we had thought of stopping were underwater. The river was quite swift with lots of debris. We saw other empty boats going by. My canoe was still tied to the tree but only the tip was up, I had to reach down about 2 feet to unite it underwater. We had a heartfelt prayer meeting with thanks to God that no one was hurt and that we were led to higher ground. 

Weather is unpredictable. When we start to tell stories like that, everyone has had similar or worse experiences. There are close calls, points of danger and damage.

Imagine the futility of the disciples at night on the Sea of Galilee. They would have preferred to be in bed or on the shore. They were there because the Lord had sent them out. Jesus told them He would see them and meet them on the other side.  At first, it was calm, but when it became dark the clouds rolled in and they found themselves in violent wind and high waves. They couldn’t make it back to shore. It can be scary.

Jesus came to the disciple in their time of peril and gave them words of comfort.

Application:  God is always with us, even during the storms. Reflect on the storms in your life and how our Lord has seen you through it. 

Prayer:  Lord, help us to always trust you, in the calm and in the storms of life. May we continue to grow closer to you, in the good and especially in the bad times, knowing that you are always with us.

Dale