Never Alone
By Shirley Mitchell
“Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified.
Immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid.’ Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.”
Mark 6:45-52
Please close your eyes, and imagine that you are in the boat with the disciples in the midst of this storm. A wave passes under the stern causing the boat to pitch steeply forward. Then another wave bursts against the bow, forcing it up steeply again like a bucking horse. The disciples and you feel the cold water splattering on your faces. Another wave top crashes over the bow and flings spray across you and three disciples at the bow. The next wave passes amid ship to pitch the boat into the trough. The bow comes almost clear of the water as it rose up each crest. Imagine how alert your senses are. Imagine how each second lingers.
This storm and the danger did not end after a few seconds, not even minutes, not even a couple of hours. The disciples were out in this storm for several hours. The Gospel of John says that they had rowed only 25 or 30 furlongs, which is about 3 miles. The Sea of Galilee measures 12 miles from north to south and 6 miles from west to east. They were traveling from west to east. It was nine hours after they started rowing, and they had only rowed 3 miles or to the middle of the sea. Jesus did not come to them until the fourth watch of the night, which is between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.
What would you be saying if you were in the boat?
- Screaming, “Do something, James and John, Mr. Fishermen! You call yourselves mighty men of the sea! Save us!!”
- Panicked pleading, “Oh, God, just get us to the other side. Please, I beg You. Just get us to the other side.”
- Hopeless, like Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh, “Everyone has got to die sometime.”
- Angry, like a self-centered princess, “What kind of God is this who sends me, His beloved child, out in the midst of one of the most terrible storms?”
- Praying with sincerity and trust, “Oh, Lord, honestly, I am scared right now when I look at the waves and the wind. However, I know who You are, and I know what You can do. Manifest Yourself in a new way, and deliver us.”
I understand completely about the feeling of wondering where God is during a storm. During the worst storm of my life which was self-inflicted, I didn’t see Him even though I was begging for Him to show up. Although an adult, I was a babe in Christ because I had chosen to leave God at church on Sundays and to not walk with Him. I had just moved to Mississippi and did not know anyone to help me through the storm. My mother was greatly concerned about me. She prayed for me continuously. She would call me from Kentucky and tell me, “Shirley, you aren’t alone. You have Jesus!” I remember I didn’t reply, but I thought, “I have started attending church, and I am trying to find out about Him. Although I have heard that all my life, I don’t know what that means. It means NOTHING to me! Don’t you have any better advice for me than that?” I am ashamed to tell you that I was frustrated and disgusted with her advice.
I smile now because that girl in the storm several years ago didn’t have the spiritual eyes that I have today. I did not know Him or His ways so I could not recognize Him. However, after walking with Him intimately for several years, as I look back over my life, I see His hands all over it. I see how He was masterfully working out my mess of a life in His perfect way, which was far different than my way! My mother’s words, “You aren’t alone. You have Jesus!” now mean something to me. No matter what happens, I am not alone. I have Jesus who means EVERYTHING to me. Now I know my God has His eye on me. His vision brings His involvement in my life. I can know that He is in full control.
Jesus saw the disciples straining on the water, and He acted. He will also move in our behalf. Maybe He does not act in the way that we would have chosen, or the way that we expect, or even in a way that our untrained spiritual eyes may notice.
Just as Jesus acted in His perfect timing to come to the disciples, so He acted in His perfect timing to come to me. When He sees, He acts – but only in accordance with His perfect timing. Jesus let time pass before He came to the disciples’ rescue in the fourth watch of the night. He used the nine hours after they started rowing to ready the disciples for revealing more of His majesty to them and letting them come to the end of their might.
God may not have sent His Son in flesh to meet you and me face to face, but He has sent His promise through His love letter to you and me… His Word…God is involved in the details of your life and my life. You and I are not lost in the crowd or blended in with a group of others. God is not just involved in the lives of the ones we identify as His Mighty Servants. We do not have to be concerned that He is spending all His efforts and resources on the golden child, the rebellious child, the lost child, or any other child. His resources are limitless. The breadth of His involvement depends upon our willingness to let Him rule in our lives. When we welcome Him into our lives, then we can trust that He will never leave our side. It can be the deepest heartache, betrayal, disease, stress, abuse, addiction, or conflict. You and I can take courage and not be afraid because we are never alone again.
Pray with me: Oh, God, thank You that I am never alone again. I draw courage to endure any storm of life from who You are. You never change, and You never fail. Help me to see You through the storm. Don’t let me fall into panic or succumb to anger. When I am pressed, the rain is beating down on me, and the waves are too high for me, help me to always turn to You so You can manifest Yourself or deliver me in a new way. It is in Your Son’s Name, I pray, in Jesus’ Name, Yeshua’s Name. Amen.
Excerpt from the Jesus Lives Bible study