John 6 [NLT] 22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the far shore saw that the disciples had taken the only boat, and they realized Jesus had not gone with them. 23 Several boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed the bread and the people had eaten. 24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him.

Mystery, suspense and intrigue! The disciples left … Jesus wasn’t with them … Jesus is not here … but no other boats are missing. How do we respond when we can’t explain the events going on around us and nothing seems to be going according to plan?

The people were anxious because Jesus had gone missing. After ministering to the people and feeding the multitudes, Jesus went into the hills for a time of personal renewal. But now Jesus was M.I.A. The good news is that when the people went looking across the sea, they would find and continue following Jesus.

In the meantime, as we discover that Jesus had gone to meet the disciples in their time of need.

John 6 [NLT] 16 That evening Jesus’ disciples went down to the shore to wait for him. 17 But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed across the lake toward Capernaum. 18 Soon a gale swept down upon them, and the sea grew very rough. 19 They had rowed three or four miles when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, 20 but he called out to them, “Don’t be afraid. I am here!” 21 Then they were eager to let him in the boat, and immediately they arrived at their destination!

Being in the middle of the Sea of Galilee we see that the disciples had rowed out 3-4 miles. I never realized Jesus “walked” that far on the water. What a wonderful demonstration of Jesus’ commitment to be with those in need of his presence.

While meditating on this passage I discovered three truths to surviving the storms of life.
– 1) Jesus arrives in the middle of the storm.
– 2) Jesus announces his presence.
– 3) We must invite him into our boat.

When we face troubles in our own lives, we can be assured that Jesus will come to our aid. We may not see him clearly at first, but he will announce his presence thus giving us the opportunity to invite him into our (boat) lives.

One other observation. In this passage there’s no mention of the storm ceasing … just that they immediately arrived at the place to which they were going. Often we want Jesus to make the storms go away. In reality, we may need to accept that Jesus’ presence with us through the storm is all we need.