Jesus Walks on the Sea
45 Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. 46 And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. 47 Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. 48 Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. 49 And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” 51 Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.

The context and the fear of the Disciples, parallels our lives at times. Though we may have never been in a ship during a storm on the Sea of Galilee, we all get into storms from time to time. When we do, we can count on Jesus to come to our rescue as He did for those 12 men in that boat. When Jesus arrived at the boat, He addressed three areas of life that were of major concern for the Disciples. He addressed their fear, faith and future.  As He did, He was able to replace their fear with His peace. The powerful words from the lips of Jesus as recorded in verse 50. “for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” Because in this short statement we learn the glorious truth that Jesus is the ultimate source of peace for the believer. As we prepare to enter this New Year, there are plenty of unknowns ahead for every one of us. It is good to know that the Lord Jesus already knows about them all and is able to give us the peace we need and desire during the troublesome times that are ahead for us all.