March 20, 2007

Good morning, friends in Christ! In John 6:17 we find the disciples off the shores of the Sea of Galilee after dark and headed toward Capernaum. You can almost imagine the doubts that came upon the group as they waited, seemingly in vain, for Jesus to come to them. As the group waited, first one would suggest that the Master had gone ahead by land; then another might suggest that he had found another boat along the shore and was even now waiting for them on the other shore. Soon they would have been arguing back and forth until finally they decided to go across the lake without the Master. We do much the same thing when a group does not communicate carefully and does not trust in the one who is missing. You can probably think of many times that this very thing has happened. That fear of abandonment takes ahold of you and the doubts start speaking to you. “You are on the wrong side of the mall, that other person is losing patience with you.” The whispers say in your mind. This fear is spoken to often in the Bible. We know what happened to the disciples next, they were terrified by a sudden storm out of the darkness and by the sight of the Master walking across the water to them. In one way we cannot blame them, if you were in fear for your life and then saw Jesus walking across the water toward you it is only natural that you might assume that you had already crossed that dark barrier and that things still didn’t look so good! However, Jesus immediately spoke to that fear of abandonment we all have by saying to them, “I am here, do not be afraid.” This is a message to all of us caught in the storms of life. When Jesus uses the words “I am”, we know that he speaks with his own great authority. It could be translated, “I am - is here, there is no more reason to be afraid.” A message that we all need to remember with joy during those times of stress and hardship, that message will comfort us and give us peace during those times. Remember the words of the Master and fear not, for he is always with us.

God’s grace and peace be with you this day.

Bucky