Jesus in the boat

¹⁷ And they took a boat and were going across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and still Jesus had not [yet] come back to them.¹⁸ Meanwhile, the sea was getting rough and rising high because of a great and violent wind that was blowing.¹⁹ [However] when they had rowed three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and approaching the boat. And they were afraid (terrified).²⁰ But Jesus said to them, It is I; be not afraid! [I Am; stop being frightened!] ²¹ Then they were quite willing and glad for Him to come into the boat. And now the boat went at once to the land they had steered toward. [And immediately they reached the shore toward which they had been slowly making their way.] John 6: 17 – 20 Amplified

I love Jesus’ response to the disciples’ fear when he walked on water to their boat. ‘It is I or I AM’. Exactly the same words that God used to Moses who was scared out of his wits at the thought of having to go and talk to Pharaoh (Exodus 3:12).

In fact in Exodus 6 God said to Moses four times ‘I am the Lord’. What God was saying is I will be with you and everything you need is found in me. You do not need to be afraid because I will be with you and there is nothing else necessary.

The disciples’ response was perfect. They invited Jesus on board and were really glad to have him in the boat. It then says that the boat immediately reached shore. Now whether this was miraculous or not, Jesus presence in the boat changed the situation. They had been struggling for hours and getting nowhere till Jesus was involved. Suddenly the situation changed.

When we are facing difficult circumstances and are feeling fearful, the first thing to know is that God is with us and whatever we need, he is it. If we need strength, comfort, security, reassurance, stability, a sense of worth, acceptance, love, forgiveness or anything else – God is where you find it.

I am sure we all know there are 365 ‘do not fears’ in the Bible; one for each day of the year. Circumstances can feel overwhelming and we can, like Moses, feel hopelessly inadequate but we do not need to fear because God is there.

However we also need to invite him into our boat, our situation.  If Jesus could walk on water to get to the disciples’ boat, it is not exactly surprising that his presence in the boat changed the situation.  God says over and over in the Bible ‘I am the Lord.’ God is Lord over your situation if you invite him in. Then he will change it. What a reassurance that is!