I woke up this morning in need of a word. Just being honest. Perhaps you know the need as well. Before going to bed, I said to my husband, “Well, the hardest part is here. We’ll see what the next few days bring.”

I wasn’t being negative or pessimistic. It was what we knew would be. It’s necessary but difficult none the less.

This morning I opened to a private message, from an online friend and right there, on my computer, God broke open His Word in the most unexpected and wonderful manner. And if I pronounce that as a true Bostonian, it becomes exactly what it truly was – “MANNA”.

She shared a portion of Scripture with me which has meant more to me in the last few years than any other Scripture. Over this time, God has continually brought me back to this portion, revealing more meaning each time. And this morning was no different.

So come with me to Matthew 14:22-33 ….

Here we find the well known story of the disciples and Jesus having fed the five thousand. Jesus insists the His disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side. I find it odd Jesus does not go with them. Rather, He goes off by Himself to pray.

As the disciples are rowing to the other side, they encounter a storm, which Scripture describes as “buffeting” (verse 24, NIV). We would say, the storm was tormenting them, inflicting mental anguish or stress.

It is in the midst of this storm, the disciples see Jesus walking to them from out on the water. As they cry out in fear, Jesus responds, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” (verse 27, NIV).

The disciples knew exactly the point Jesus was making …

God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” (Exodus 3:14)

Jesus is whatever we need. He is all we need. The reason for our lack of fear, when fear wants to press in, is truly – He is!

But the story continues ….

As Peter fails in his attempt to walk out on the water to Jesus, Jesus stretches out His hand to keep Peter from going under. We are then told …

“And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.” (verse 32, NIV)

Jesus gets into the boat with the disciples in the middle of the storm. The storm stopped after they all got into the boat.

And so He does with each of us.

He enters into our storms, into those circumstances which inflict mental anguish or stress. And He is our “I AM”, all we will ever need in that moment.

An interesting thing occurs after they are all settled in the boat and the storm has ceased …

“Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (verse 33, NIV)

Jesus with them, in the midst of their storm, resulted in worship. They received a glimpse of Jesus for Who He truly could be in every crisis. Christ’s supremacy is often best displayed in the middle of our storms.

Jesus said, “It is I!”

“I AM WHO I AM.”

He is all we will ever need.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ype1xE0wzsg&w=420&h=315]

** Thank you, Janet, for being faithful to pray and to bring encouragement to so many!

Today I am joining … Thought Provoking Jesus and Woman 2 Woman and Everyday Jesus .