Storms have a way of exposing what we trust.

Some arrive without warning, while others seem to build slowly on the horizon. A difficult conversation. Financial pressure. A health diagnosis. A relationship that begins to drift apart. Seasons where anxiety feels louder than peace. We all know what it feels like to row against the wind, wondering if we'll ever make it to the other side.

The disciples knew that feeling too.

After feeding the five thousand, Jesus sent His disciples across the Sea of Galilee while He withdrew by Himself. Before long, the wind picked up, the waves grew stronger, and darkness settled in around them. What's remarkable is that none of this caught Jesus by surprise. He knew the storm was coming... and He sent them anyway.

That truth can be difficult to accept, but it is deeply comforting. Following Jesus doesn't mean we avoid storms. Sometimes the very path of obedience leads us straight into them. Yet if Jesus sends us there, He also knows exactly where to find us.

The Darkness Is a Waiting Room

John quietly notes, "It was dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them."

Throughout John's Gospel, darkness carries deeper meaning than simply the absence of sunlight. It often represents confusion, fear, uncertainty, and not yet fully seeing who Jesus is. The disciples weren't only surrounded by physical darkness. They still had much to learn about the One they were following.

But notice what John doesn't say.

The darkness wasn't the absence of Jesus.

It was the waiting room for His activity.

How often do we assume that because God feels silent, He must be distant? We wonder if He sees our struggle or if He has forgotten us altogether. Yet Scripture repeatedly reminds us that God is often doing His greatest work while we are still waiting.

The disciples kept rowing.

Jesus was already on His way.

Jesus Walks on What We Fear

When Jesus came toward the boat, He wasn't simply performing an unforgettable miracle.

For the people of the ancient world, the sea represented chaos. It symbolized everything that was unpredictable, uncontrollable, and dangerous. The waves were a picture of the disorder and brokenness that people could never master on their own.

Then Jesus came walking across the water.

In that moment He wasn't merely showing power over nature. He was revealing something far greater about Himself. The chaos that terrified everyone else rested beneath His feet.

Then He spoke words that changed everything:

"It is I. Don't be afraid."

In the original language, Jesus says, Ego Eimi—"I AM."

This wasn't simply a way of identifying Himself. It echoed the name God revealed to Moses. Standing on the waves, Jesus was declaring that He was the eternal God who rules over creation, the One who has authority over every force that threatens His people.

Notice what Jesus doesn't say.

He doesn't explain the storm.

He doesn't promise the waves will immediately disappear.

He simply announces His presence.

Sometimes the greatest miracle isn't that our circumstances change overnight. It's that we become deeply aware that the Great I AM is with us in the middle of them.

Will You Welcome Him Into the Boat?

John says the disciples were willing to take Jesus into the boat.

That may seem like the obvious response, but it carries a powerful challenge for all of us.

Welcoming Jesus means surrendering control. It means admitting that rowing harder isn't enough. It means trusting Someone greater than ourselves to lead us through what we cannot manage on our own.

Everything in us wants to stay in control. We prefer solving our own problems, carrying our own burdens, and proving we can make it through by ourselves. Yet Jesus invites us into something better.

He invites us to trust the One who walks on the very things that overwhelm us.

The storms of life will still come. There will still be seasons of uncertainty, grief, disappointment, and fear. But we never face them alone.

The same Jesus who walked across the Sea of Galilee still steps into our chaos today. He still speaks peace to fearful hearts. He still reminds His people, "Do not be afraid."

Because when the Great I AM is in the boat, everything changes.

Not because the storm immediately ends.

But because we know the One who walks on the waves.

Message recap adapted from the July 12, 2026, message by Minister Mark Ashton

Message Notes & Slides

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