“But he said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid.’” – John 6:20
There was a lot going on in that moment on a dark and storm-tossed Sea of Galilee. It bears reflecting on, because it speaks to our moment…
The disciples were in a small boat, in the pitch dark of night, exhausted after hours of rowing, uncertain when their ordeal would ever end, and afraid for their lives. In the midst of all that, Jesus appears and says they don’t need to be afraid, because He’s now with them. As followers of Christ, He is always with us in the midst of every storm. The storm may hurt us. The storm may even claim our life. But we don’t need to be afraid in the storm, because Christ is with us. “It is I; do not be afraid.”
The disciples were in that boat in that storm because Jesus put them there. They were there in obedience to Him. Sometimes Jesus will put us into very difficult and frightening situations. He will call us to do exhausting and dangerous things and we must do them. But we don’t need to be afraid of them, because He’s there with us. “It is I; do not be afraid.”
The disciples were particularly afraid of Jesus in that moment, because He appeared in a completely unexpected way (walking on the water in the middle of the night). Jesus will act unexpectedly at times. As C.S. Lewis said of Aslan, the Christ-figure in the Chronicles of Narnia, He is not a tame lion. Despite our popular and pleasant images, Jesus is the sovereign king of the universe, not merely a buddy we get to direct as we please. His ways are not our ways. His wisdom and power go infinitely far beyond ours. He will do things we don’t understand, and He will ask us to do things that are difficult, confusing, and dangerous. He asks us to change in ways that feel deeply uncomfortable and even painful, ripping around who we thought we were so that we can become who we were created to be. We need to trust Him and His good will and plans for us, following His lead, making the needed changes, and living in obedience. “It is I; do not be afraid.”