When Jesus’ disciples saw Him walking on the surface of the sea they “were frightened” (6:50). But why? It’s not as though the disciples hadn’t seen Jesus do similarly miraculous things. By this time in His ministry, His power to heal had become so widely accepted that crowds thronged Him everywhere He went, begging just to touch the hem of His garments (6:56). And back in chapter 4, hadn’t Jesus been able to still a much more serious storm with a simple command (4:39)? Why were the disciples’ hearts so hardened against Him (6:52)? Why didn’t they joyfully trust in His divine power?

Well, why can’t we? After all, those of us who believe in the empty tomb know that Jesus isn’t just a merely human Messiah, but the Son of God. And yet in the midst of our own storms of life, how often do we lose faith in Christ and give ourselves over to fear, wondering if He’ll be willing or able to save us from our latest difficulty?

It could be because, in the midst of our fears, we don’t recognize Him. After all, when they first caught a glimpse of Jesus, the disciples thought He was a ghost (6:49). For regardless of how many mighty miracles they may have witnessed, they had never seen Jesus walk on the water. And so their common sense took over, as they assumed that if something was impossible for them, well, it must be impossible for Jesus too. In the face of their fears, their faith in Christ faded into the background, just as ours so often does.

But Jesus seems to have sent them into such a difficult situation precisely to increase their faith. After all, He’s the One Who told them to launch out across the sea without Him (6:45). Moreover, when Jesus first came to the disciples, He intended to pass by them (6:48), thus allowing their test to continue. In the same way, God often allows us to face challenging and even impossible situations just so that we might turn to Him, trusting Him to do what we cannot do for ourselves.

But in the midst of our own storms of life, how do we know that our God will hear us? Well, when Jesus saw His disciples in difficulty, what did He do? He came to them, and in a way that they considered to be impossible (6:48). And when they were afraid, what did He say? “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid” (6:50). And even before they asked Him to, He made the wind stop blowing (6:51), making the cause of their difficulties simply vanish.

And don’t we worship the same Christ? So why should we doubt that He will take notice of our suffering? Why should we wonder if He is able and willing to help us, no matter the source of our struggles? So even in the face of impossible problems, why should we go on being afraid? Why shouldn’t we trust in Him?

Mark 6:45-56 (NASB)

45 And immediately Jesus had His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He Himself dismissed the crowd. 46 And after saying goodbye to them, He left for the mountain to pray. 47 When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. 48 Seeing them straining at the oars—for the wind was against them—at about the fourth watch of the night, He came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. 49 But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought that it was a ghost, and they cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and said to them, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.” 51 Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished, 52 for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

53 When they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored at the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, 55 and ran about that entire country and began carrying here and there on their pallets those who were sick, to wherever they heard He was. 56 And wherever He entered villages, or cities, or a countryside, they were laying the sick in the marketplaces and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and all who touched it were being healed.