Jesus’ Presence in the Storm

It was a literal storm. 

All night they had strained with every fibre of each muscle in their arms, legs, backs and chests to keep the boat afloat. Wind howled, stars were obliterated by clouds, and the darkness above was as black as the waters below. Up and down, back and forth, from side to side, they were tossed about. And all that after an emotional rollercoaster of a day – the peaks and troughs of the previous day like that of the dark sea beneath their flimsy vessel. 

It had started with shocking news. One they respected, a cousin of their Lord, had been beheaded at the order of a ruler they feared.

“Come away,” said their master. But the crowds had found them.

“Feed the people,” said their master. But with what?

And then after their Lord had done the impossible, he had dismissed the crowds and sent them ahead of him in this boat.

But then this nightmare of a storm hit.

Bright light broke into the darkness. A figure emerged from the inky blackness. Was is it a ghost? Tentacles of fear tightened, threatening to squeeze the life out of their pounding hearts. 

And then the figure spoke.

“Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

Storms of life

It was a metaphorical storm.

The story is not mine to tell. Suffice to say that as I meditated on Jesus’ words, “It is I” – words which had caught my attention as part of my Bible Study Fellowship class (BSF) that day – I received a message.

‘Urgent, Urgent, Urgent – Please pray,’ it began.

I prayed fervently for a brother in a crisis.

“Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid.” Those words kept surfacing in my mind.

Yes, these words are out of context. Yet the truth is that Jesus’ Spirit is in all of us who follow him in this post-Pentecost age.

He doesn’t necessarily prevent the storms, nor quell them the moment they begin, despite our frequent requests to that end.

Yet with us he most definitely is.

And so we can take courage.

ἐγώ εἰμι – ego eimi – I am

“Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid.” (Matthew 14:27 NIV)

My interest was piqued by that middle sentence, ‘It is I’. In Greek, the original language in which the Gospel was recorded, the phrase was ἐγώ εἰμι [ego eimi], literally meaning ‘I am’. It is nicely bracketed by a pair of exhortations – Take courage,’ and ‘Do not be afraid’. 

As stormy waves buffeted their boat, the distressed disciples could indeed take heart in one fact and one fact alone.

Their beloved teacher had arrived.

When the ancient Hebrew Scriptures were translated into the Greek of New Testament times, ‘Ego eimi’ appeared in the translation. It was the phrase used to translate the name of God given in Exodus 3:13-14 when God revealed himself as the ‘I AM”.

In declaring to his terrified disciples that night on the tumultuous sea that he was ‘I AM’, Jesus was claiming nothing less than divinity. He was – and is – in very nature God.

And that was good reason for courage and confidence, even while the storm raged.

Focus

Peter responded to Jesus’ words with a request.

“Lord, if it is you,” Peter said, “Tell me to come to you.”

In my mind, I can almost hear Peter yelling these words over the howl of the wind and the crashing of the waves.

“Come,” Jesus replied.

Lots could be written about what happened next, but space is limited. Suffice to say that Peter needed to focus on Jesus rather than on his stormy environment. When he looked to his Lord, he walked. When he looked about him, he began to sink.

A storm stilled

And then Jesus got into the boat.

The wind died down, the waves dissipated, and I imagine the stars even shone.

Those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying “Truly, you are the son of God.” (Matthew 14:33 NIV)

Then and now

That was then. This is now.

Their storm was literal. Ours are more often metaphorical.

Yet the truth remains. In the midst of our storms, Jesus – the great ‘I AM’ – is with us.

And so we can take courage. We need not fear.

Lord Jesus, please will you help us to keep our focus fixed firmly on you. We ask this for your glory as well as for our well-being.

Amen.