Jesus had sent the disciples ahead of Him. He knew where they were going and what they would face—yet He stayed back to pray. From the shore, He saw their struggle long before they even called for help (Mark 6:47-52).
The disciples were straining at the oars, fighting against the wind for hours, and yet Jesus waited. He didn’t immediately step in. He let them struggle.
Why?
Because they had already witnessed the miraculous. They had just fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish. They had carried the leftover baskets themselves. They should have known by now—Jesus always provides. But in the storm, they forgot.
How many times do I do the same? I have seen God move. I have witnessed His provision, His miracles, His faithfulness. Yet, when challenges come, I wrestle, I strain, I panic, I forget.
“Jesus intended to pass by them.”
At first, this seems harsh—why would He walk past them? But what if He was showing them that they already had everything they needed? What if He expected their faith to rise to the occasion?
But they didn’t recognize Him.
They thought He was a ghost.
They let fear replace faith.
And in that moment, Jesus stepped in.
“Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.”
With just His presence, the storm ceased. Not because He needed to calm it, but because they needed to remember who He was.
How often does God show up in our lives, and we fail to recognize Him? How often do we let fear distort what we know to be true?
We have mountains of evidence of God’s faithfulness. Yet, when we’re in the thick of a storm, we sometimes lose sight of the miracles that got us here.
Jesus doesn’t expect us to avoid the storm—He expects us to walk through it with confidence, knowing that He has already gone before us.
God wouldn’t pull us into deeper waters if He hadn’t already equipped us to handle them.
We don’t need to struggle at the oars—we need to trust that He is already leading us to the other side.
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