Be Not Afraid

 John 6:20
He saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.

After a busy day with Jesus feeding 5,000 men, the disciple left for Capernaum. Heading home for the day. The quickest way to get to Capernaum was to take a boat and sail across the Sea of Galilee. Because of the lower elevation of the Sea of Galilee, the water is warm. The cold air that comes off the surrounding hills causes a weather storm front that creates strong winds. This strong wind causes the sea to billow and makes the sea very turbulent. Such was the case as the disciples transverse their boat across the sea. What started out as a calm ride, they were only about 5 miles into the sea when the waters started to rock the boat. Like the disciples, we don’t know what the day will hold. Our day may start out calm, but by midday, our lifeboat may start to rock. A sudden life storm hits us unaware. Our natural reaction is to fret and worry. It is more than we can handle. Our little boat can’t handle the storm. But Jesus, who cares for His own, appears. He is found in the midst of the storm. He is the one who can calm the waves that trouble our lifeboat. His words bring comfort to our hearts, “Be not afraid.” Circumstances in our life are often out of our control, and there is nothing we can do except trust in the one who can calm the sea and take us to the other side.

Storms of Life

Mark 4:37 “And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was now full.”-

When life happens a storm is surely to come. It matters not if you are a Christian or a non believer in God, the storms of life will rock our boat and fill it with problems and unwanted circumstances. We often wonder why things are happening in our life, especially when we are doing our best to please God. We do our best to live right and to follow His Word. We give of our self to help others or to see God’s kingdom go forward. Then all of a sudden, BAM! a wave hits us. We are shaken up and begin to fret in fear that God has forsaken us or no longer cares for us. Life happens! We are in the storm of confusion and uncertainty. In times like these, we need to remember that Christ is in the hind part of the boat. He will not let anything happen that is not His perfect will. We must learn to trust and have faith that He will calm the trouble waters, He will give us the calming peace we need to ride the storm. In times like this we have an Anchor, we can trust Him to do what is best. Life happens! But, Jesus also happens!