God in the Midst of the Storm

It had been such a long day. Jesus and the disciples had just found out His cousin, John the Baptist, had been killed. And Jesus left in a boat to go somewhere quiet. Somewhere He could be alone with His grief.

But it wasn’t to be, for the crowds had followed Him to that remote place, and the place wasn’t so quiet anymore.

When Jesus saw all the people, He couldn’t help but heal them and teach them. And after teaching for hours upon hours, everyone had realized how hungry the people were. And how short of food they were. The disciples watched as Jesus turned a few fish and loaves of bread into enough food to feed ten or even fifteen thousand people. It was incredible.

But the sun had long set, and Jesus had sent them out in the boat to cross the Sea of Galilee and go into the town of Bethsaida, while He stayed behind in the hills to pray.

It was normal for Jesus to do things like that, go off by Himself to pray. But boy, did it have to be on a night like tonight?

They had been rowing and rowing and rowing, but the wind was strong and they had only made it about halfway across the lake. They should have been there hours ago. Now, it was around 3 o’clock in the morning and everyone was exhausted.

And then something appeared in the water. Surely their eyes were playing tricks on them. Their tired minds were created something that didn’t exist. Because it looked like… a ghost?! And even the wind couldn’t cover the screams that left their mouths upon seeing that sight.

In today’s podcast, we are going to dive into the story of Jesus meeting the disciples on the lake during the storm. And through that story, we’re going to ask God to show us where He is when it feels we are left alone.

Because I know there are times when I—and many of my clients—are wondering where in the world God is at when we are going through a difficult season. And I can’t wait to share with you what I’ve learned. Let’s dive in.

The Storm

It’s not often you think about grown, strong men screaming in terror, is it? And yet, there was something truly frightening about this story.

But let’s set the scene.

Jesus had just finished feeding the 5,000 the day before. He had spent the day teaching and then, taking that boy’s lunch of bread and fish, Jesus fed thousands of people. And then He sent them home.

And that takes us to our story here. I’m going to read Mark chapter 6, verses 45 through 52:

Mark 6:45-52 (NIV)

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.

Later that night, 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. Shortly before dawn 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.

There’s a part of this story that has bothered me ever since I was in college. And maybe when I read it just now, it caught your attention, too.

It says Jesus was about to pass by them.

Now, wait a minute here. Jesus saw them struggling, straining at the oars. And He went out to them.

So why would Jesus pass by them? That doesn’t seem very compassionate. That doesn’t feel very loving.

Keep in mind, the boat is in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, and it’s the middle of the night, about 3 o’clock in the morning. There’s a storm. The disciples—4 of whom are professional fishermen—are struggling.

I wonder what your storm looks like.

An unfounded accusation? An unexpected divorce? A brutal betrayal? An unjust firing? A chronic disease?

And during some of these seasons, it seems like God is answering everyone else’s prayers.

He’s there for them. But we don’t experience Him as being there for us.

We know He sees us. We know that God is there, that He’ll never leave us. But we can’t sense His presence. It feels like He is just walking by us.

Or maybe you’ve experienced something like the dark night of the soul. It feels as if God has withdrawn. He’s not answering prayer. He’s not highlighting any Bible verses for you. You’re not getting any answers to your questions.

He’s just… gone. He has seemingly passed by.

From Bad to Worse

In fact, it often seems as if we, too, see a “ghost” of some sort. Something that just makes everything worse.

We already have a strong wind. We’re already exhausted. And now a ghost?

And we scream. We cry out.

That’s what the word means: to scream, to cry aloud, to shriek, to exclaim.

We lament. We complain.

• The furnace goes out. Then the stove stops working. And now the car? God, where are You?

• We have a cold. Then we get the flu. And then it turns into pneumonia. God, where are You?

• Your son is having trouble at school. And then your best friend receives a diagnosis. And then you lose your job. God, where are You? I’ve had enough. It’s too much!

All of those scenarios run through our minds. All of those feelings and questions are real. We can’t see God. We can’t hear Him.

Just like the disciples, who had seen Jesus calm a storm before (Mark 4), we are asking, “Why isn’t He doing that again?”

We’ve seen Him heal before; why isn’t He healing now?

We’ve seen Him provide before; why isn’t He providing now?

We’ve seen Him comfort before; why isn’t He comforting now?

Where is God when we are hurting? Why does He pass us by?

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When God Passes By

But, my friend, is it possible that we are not understanding the phrase in its fullest sense?

Is it possible that, instead of just physically walking past them, Jesus was actually revealing Himself to them in a new way?

When we are studying the Bible, there are various hermeneutic principles we can use to help us understand what we are reading. And one of those is to let the Bible interpret the Bible.

In other words, we look to see where else this phrase is used. And I have found two different places where it talks about God passing by.

God Passing By Moses

The first is in Exodus chapter 33 verses 21 through 23. Let me read it for us.

Exodus 33:21-23 (NIV)

Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

When God passes by Moses, He is not ignoring him, slighting him, or denying him. God is showing Moses His glory. It’s incredible!

God Passing By Elijah

But let’s look at the second example: when God speaks to Elijah in 1 Kings chapter 19, verses 11 through 13. Again, let me read it.

1 Kings 19:11-13 (NIV)

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

When God passes by Elijah, He is revealing His presence to him. Elijah sensed God’s presence there in the sound of the gentle whisper. In the sound of sheer silence.

In each of these examples, when God passes by, He is revealing Himself to someone.

Let me ask you this: Is it possible that in our storms, God is actually revealing Himself in a new way?

If we are lacking, is He revealing Himself as Jehovah Jireh, our provider?

If we are lost or afraid, is He revealing Himself as our Good Shepherd?

God Revealing Himself

Back to our story: The disciples are out in a boat in the middle of the storm, and Jesus is about to pass by them.

Jesus had already shown Himself to the disciples as a healer. He had already shown Himself to them as being in control of creation. Now He reveals Himself as the Son of God.

Look at it again. What does Jesus say to the disciples? “It is I.” “It’s Me, Jesus.”

Let me read the Jewish version: “I am.”

“I am.”

Listen to what this commentary says: “From other lips that ‘I am’ would have merely meant that the person speaking was such a one and not another person. That, surely, would have done little to calm the fears of men expecting every minute, it may be, to go to the bottom. But spoken by One who at that moment was ‘treading upon the waves of the sea,’ and was about to hush the raging elements with His word, what was it but the Voice which cried of old in the ears of Israel, even from the days of Moses, ‘I AM’; ‘I, EVEN I, AM He!’” (Jamieson-Faucett-Brown Commentary).

Responding with Worship

This is the same story as Matthew 14:22-33, when we hear in more detail that Peter, too, walks on water. But we don’t hear about Peter’s walking on water here.

But in Matthew’s version of the story, after Peter gets back into the boat, the disciples declare, “Truly you are the Son of God!”

This was an act of worship.

They respond to Jesus passing by with worship.

What’s the evidence?

• They had watched Him heal so many people.
• They had watched Him feed the 5,000.
• They now watched Him walk on water in the middle of a storm.
• And they watched as the wind died down as He stepped into the boat.
• And then they immediately arrived on shore (shared in John’s account of the story, John 6:16-21)

This was, indeed, the Son of God. If they had any doubt before, now they knew. He had clearly revealed Himself.

Recognizing God

Here’s an important truth I need you to know and hold onto:

Christ may be sometimes near His people, and they don’t know it (from John Gill).

Sometimes God is near and we don’t know it.

Think about Jacob (Genesis 28:16), who exclaimed, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”

Think about Mary at the tomb, mistaking Jesus as the gardener.

Think about the men on the road to Emmaus, who did not recognize Jesus until He gave thanks and broke the bread.

I would bet that if you were to look back on times in your life where it felt like God was far away, you could now, with the benefit of hindsight, look back and see where and how He was moving in your life.

Where has the Lord passed you by?

How has He revealed Himself to you?

How have you personally experienced Him?

And in the future, when it seems as if God is about to pass you by in a difficult season, keep this in mind: He is getting ready to reveal Himself to you in a deeper way. Are you ready to receive that?

Journal Prompt: How has God revealed Himself to you in the past?

This week, I want you to journal about how God has revealed Himself to you in the past. Write down as many things as you can. Be specific. Tell the stories.

But don’t just tell the stories; tell how God showed up. Identify the names: as Provider, as Shepherd, as Shield, as Savior, as Healer, as Teacher, as Comforter, as Peace, as Joy, as Love.

And spend time thanking Him for that. Praise Him. Worship Him.

And friend, don’t forget that if you’d like more support with journaling through difficult seasons, you can join the Journal Gently program, which is specifically designed to help you not just write about the hard things but also to draw close to God as you do. You can learn more and sign up at lovedoesthat.org/journalgently.

Prayer

God, it can be so hard to see You in the moment, in the midst of a brutal storm. But Your Word reveals—and we’ve experienced this in our own lives—that You truly are there. Help us to see You. Help us to recognize You. Help us to be open to seeing how You might be revealing Yourself in a new way, a deeper way, than we’ve known before. We pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.

RELATED EPISODES:

• Episode 91: When God is Silent: Experiencing His Presence in New Ways
• Episode 94: Entering the Silence and Stillness with God: A Conversation with Blogger and Writer Celia Miller
• Episode 131: Healing in Layers: What Art Taught Me About Grief
• Episode 135: Identifying Signs You’re Not Doing Well (And What You Can Do About It)

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