24 But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. 26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

While Jesus prayed, the disciples sailed. His was the tranquility of quietness alone with His father. Theirs was the tumult of a storm in the middle of the lake. Their vessel was taking a battering, Jesus was “recharging His batteries.” What a contrast of experience!

The disciples are not to be faulted for being out there on a number of accounts. First, Jesus, their Master, had sent them out there at that time. Second, even seasoned fishermen could not always anticipate the sudden storms that often cascaded suddenly down on the Sea of Galilee. It will not do, though, to think that the storm took Jesus by surprise. He is the Lord of creation and could very well have planned the storm for that time in that place as the staging for the faith lesson about to take place. Depending upon one’s theology, one might see this as the Lord in His perfect foreknowledge taking advantage of the natural order of things for the benefit of discipleship training. Regardless, nothing happens by chance and everything works together according to God’s plan.

At any rate, their progress slowed and the stress grew—it had been a long night and now between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. (“the fourth watch”) they must have been bone weary of fighting the elements. The Sea of Galilee is not overly large, measuring roughly 8 by 13 miles, but shore was a long way off.

Jesus came walking on the water, probably one of the most well known of His miraculous feats. Other accounts indicate that He made like He was going to walk right past the boat. Those seasoned fishermen had nothing in their past experience with which to frame what they saw, concluding it was an apparition of some sort. Terror struck, they screamed in panic. Jesus waited until that very moment to make His next move.

He spoke…and His message was this: no matter how dire the circumstances or fearful the experience, no matter how fruitless the efforts or hopeless it seems, there is something that overrides all else: the presence of the Lord—“It is I.” He is our peace, our protector, He is our shelter, fortress and strong tower. He is our gyroscope, stabilizer and trump card. Therefore, take courage!

Lord, help me see You in the midst of my troubled time and experience. You overshadow all else. In You I have courage.