In the waves, but not alone

Mark 6:45-51

“Immediately, he made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After he said good-bye to them, he went away to the mountain to pray. Well into the night, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and he was alone on the land. He saw them straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Very early in the morning he came toward them walking on the sea and wanted to pass by them. When they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke with them and said “have courage! It is I! Don’t be afraid.” Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. They were completely astounded.

Often this passage is read with the perspective of the magnitude of Jesus walking on water and calming the wind and the waves. Although such is a miracle in itself, this passage is a complete description of the Christian faith. Here in just a short 6 verses, we see how God does not leave us alone in our struggles but actually seeks us out to comfort and console us. 

V48A “He saw them straining at the oars.” Jesus is praying to His Father after feeding the five thousand and He is on the hillside overlooking the sea, when he notices the struggling of the disciples. Imagine the fear in all their hearts as the wind and waves become too much to handle. We see in verse 48 that Jesus sees them straining. From a distance, He notices their struggle. And what happens next is amazing. V48B “very early in the morning, He came toward them.” In one verse we see the amazing reality that not only does God see us in our struggles, He sees us “sitting under the fig tree,” but He comes toward us and pursues us! He doesn’t see from a distance, sit on the hillside and abandon us. Not our God. He sees the struggle, and He himself comes to us and begins to walk on water.

We see a very important lesson next at the end of verse 48. It says “he came toward them…and wanted to pass by them.” This can be discouraging if you stop reading here. Why would Jesus walk on water to come to us in our struggles, only to walk right by us? It is because we have to call out to him. We need to lean into him in the midst of our trial. If we don’t, he may walk right past us and our trial could overtake us. But we see in verse 49 that “all cried out, because they all saw him.” The disciples see Him walking on water and were afraid. But they cried out to him and doing so, invited Him into their trial. He so graciously responds to their invitation by comforting, “have courage, it is I. Don’t be afraid.” 

An important lesson here is that the disciples didn’t have it all together. They even mistook the Lord Jesus initially as a ghost, v49 “when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost.” But they still cried out. They didn’t have the perfect prayer. They didn’t turn immediately to their Bible and start the prayer of lectio divina. What they did is simply cry out to Jesus, turning their face to Him, acknowledging Him…and that was enough. He responds by providing comfort and encouragement, and finally by v51 “then he got into the boat with them.” He joined them in their trial. He got in the boat with them in the middle of the storm and in doing so tells them “You are not alone. This is not your trial to fight on your own. I am here with you because you called to me. I will comfort you and I will walk with you through this.”

The following verse tells us “…the wind ceased.” An immediate result of crying out to God and Him partnering with us by “getting into the boat” is the resolution of our trial. He is the answer to all challenges we may go through. Even the wind and waves obey. That is the power of Jesus Christ. 

You may have a challenge you are currently facing, but these 6 verses in Mark can reassure you that Jesus sees you in the middle of your trial, that He himself pursues you, that if you invite Him in, He will comfort you and “get into the boat” with you.

He is the answer. You may be in the waves, but you are not alone and he won’t let you sink.