If you want to break the cycle of fear, panic, and doubt, welcome Jesus into the boat of your lives rather than merely asking Him to remove the storm.
John 6:16-21 – 16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.
What do you do when you step out in total obedience to Jesus, and yet walk straight into the hardest storm of your life? I ask because our text today identifies this struggle— a struggle I know all too well.
Let me share one. When I was 23 years old, God called me out of Pakistan to go to Bible college in Greece and plant a church there. There, I first bore fruit: two men— one Afghan and one Iranian— came to faith in Christ. Before I left, they insisted that I must take the Gospel to their home countries.
So, when I returned to Pakistan, that’s exactly what I did. I went into Afghanistan. In Kabul and Kandahar, God gave me favor by opening doors everywhere. Naturally, I was on fire for the Lord! Until I entered the city of Herat, and in a single moment, the sun went down, and the storm hit. My luggage was stolen. I was starving. I had nowhere to sleep. Feeling the favor was gone, panic set in, and I found myself crying out: “Where are You, Jesus?”
The Problem
When we treat God like a spiritual emergency room, we panic and plead with Him to change our circumstances. When He does, we feel a momentary relief— only until the next crisis, the next storm, or the next unmet expectation hits, and we instantly fall right back into panic and doubt. We need to realize that in a broken world full of unpredictable storms, all relief is temporary, and it will never yield permanent faith, for that we need Jesus.
That was precisely the danger the disciples faced in John 6:16-21. They had just witnessed the miracle of feeding thousands with five loaves and two fish. They collected the twelve baskets of leftovers, an undeniable proof of Christ’s power, provision, and providence. Yet, the moment the sun went down and a dark storm battered their boat, they completely lost their focus on the Savior. In an instant, their fear swallowed their faith, their peace turned to panic— until they welcomed Jesus into the boat.
The Big Idea
Unless we welcome Jesus into the boat of our lives rather than merely asking Him to remove the storm, we will never get out of the cycle of fear, panic, and doubt.
How do we welcome Jesus into the boat of our lives that is in our daily decisions, relationships, priorities, and prayers? Our text suggests it will require shifting the focus from what we have or don’t have to who we have in Jesus.
As seen in John 6:1–21, the problem of focus is built on two other problems— the problem of faith in John 6:1–7 and the problem of food in John 6:8–13. Last time, we saw in John 6:14- 15 how the crowd of thousands suffered with the problem of focus, and today we will see how the disciples suffered by it too.
The Problem of Focus, Part 2 (John 6:16-21)
In John 6:16-21, the disciples’ boat is hit by a storm; they are struggling, and their focus has shifted from the Savior that seems to be absent to their survival. Their problem of focus unfolds in three distinct movements that have application for us: distress in the darkness, doubts in the deep, and delight in the divine.
Distress in the Darkness (John 6:16-18)
John 6:16–18 reads, “16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.” Notice three quick details here: it was dark, Jesus was not with them, and the wind was raging.
It is always in the dark that distrust in divine presence and distress begin to take root in our lives. Matthew 14 and Mark 6 also record the same event and they say it was about the fourth watch of the night, which is between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. We do not know when they got into the boat, but what we do know from Matthew and Mark’s accounts is that they got into the boat in obedience to Jesus and that they had been rowing against the wind for hours, and they were stuck in the middle of the sea. Distress in darkness is where human strength fails in the shadow of overwhelming circumstances, and that is where the disciples were.
If their experience was anything like mine in Herat, Afghanistan, in panic they must have cried out, “We are doing this in obedience to you, Jesus; where are you?”
Where was Jesus? He was in prayer up on the mountain. Yet Matthew and Mark tell us Jesus saw them battling the wind for hours.
Where was Jesus, again? High on the mountain. Where were the disciples down in the storm, yet the divine eyes of Christ were fixed directly on His straining disciples.
In Exodus 32, when Moses was on Mount Sinai, God had to tell him that his people were in trouble after they formed the golden calf. But no one had to tell Jesus because Jesus is God. The disciples could see the storm but not the Savior, while the Savior could see both the disciples and the storm they were battling.
Perhaps you are currently facing a financial, relational, physical, spiritual, or emotional storm, and all you can see is the storm, and you are wondering, “Where is Jesus?” The question that we should ask is, “How is it that the very same God who can perform a miracle in your life on a sunny hillside can feel completely absent when a dark storm hits your boat?”
Gospel Truth
Just as Jesus saw the disciples perishing and stepped down to rescue them, He saw humanity perishing from heaven and stepped down to rescue us.
Application
Obedience to Christ does not exempt us from the storms of life; it often leads us straight into them so Christ can expose where our trust actually lies. Their problem of focus grew from distress in darkness to doubts in the deep.
Doubts in the Deep (John 5:19)
John 6:19 says, “19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened.”
Why were they frightened? Both Matthew and Mark tell us because they thought it was a ghost. Their culture taught that the dead could remain on earth as ghosts. The Bible doesn’t teach that. Hebrews 9:27 says, “Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” So, either they go to heaven or hell (2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Matthew 25:46).
Clearly, the disciples were focusing on their fears and not faith in Jesus. Therefore, when a figure appeared walking across the violent waves, their immediate reaction wasn’t faith; it was fear, panic, and doubt.
The same account in the Gospel of Matthew includes the story of Peter walking on the water. In Matthew 14, as long as Peter’s eyes were fixed on Jesus, he walked on the water, but when his focus shifted from the Savior to the storm, faith gave way to fear, and Matthew 14:30- 31, Peter cried, “Lord, save me,” and Jesus immediately reached out and rescued him.
Gospel Truth
What threatens to swallow you in the deep is merely the pavement beneath Christ’s feet. Every chaos, every crisis is completely under His feet and His authority.
Application
Doubts in the deep occur when panic blinds us to the God who walks over our crisis. So, don’t question His presence simply because He didn’t prevent the storm. Sometimes He allows those storms to get into your boat. This takes us to the last movement in this section of the text, delight in the divine.
Delight in the Divine (John 6:20-21)
John 6:20-21 finishes our text for today, “20 But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.”
Jesus spoke into their panic with two Greek words: “Egō Eimi”—literally, “I AM.” He didn’t just say, “It’s me, don’t worry.” He claimed the holy, covenant name of God revealed to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3:14! Hearing His divine voice, their fear instantly melted into delight. They were glad to welcome Him into the boat. The moment they welcomed the divine Savior into the boat, they experienced another miracle: “immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.”
Let me illustrate this. Imagine a terrified child in a thunderstorm. The child doesn’t need a lecture on weather; they need to hear their father’s voice say, “I am here.” Delight in the divine happens when you welcome the sovereign “I AM” into your boat, which transforms your terror into peace.
Gospel Truth
You don’t get peace after you reach the shore; you receive peace the moment Christ enters your boat because He, the Great “I AM,” is the prince of peace.
Application
Stop praying only for God to change your circumstances or take away the storm and start praying for the grace to welcome Jesus fully into your boat of life that is in our daily decisions, relationships, priorities, and prayers. If you do that, then you will see your focus will shift from now and here to the Kingdom of God.
When your focus shifts, the focus of our church will shift with you because what is true for us individually is true for us as a church. In these last days, God is calling us into deep waters individually and as a church. Either we can stay on the hillside of comfort or like the disciples, step into the boat and go out into the dark, stormy sea because the mission is on the other shore.
So, the question is, are you going to stay on the hillside, or will you step into the boat, grab an oar, and row with this church into the mission God has set before us to be more evangelistic disciple making church that plant churches. If you step into the boat, the sovereign “I AM” will walk on top of the very waves and every storm that intimidates you and will land us safely on the shore He has preordained.
Closing Thought
As I close, I want to take us back to our opening question: what do you do when you step out in total obedience to Jesus, follow His exact call, and yet walk straight into the hardest storm of your life?
You do one thing— make sure that Jesus is in your boat and not in the storm because true faith does not merely want Jesus to calm the storm; it wants Jesus in the boat. Our problem in the storm isn’t the strength of the wind or the height of the waves— our problem is the depth of our faith and the direction of our focus.
Back in Herat, Afghanistan, I was focused on me and not on His mission; therefore, while I was crying out, “Where are You, Jesus?” Jesus was preparing the way for me to escape a bomb explosion that happened exactly where I wanted to camp to engage Afghan people in Herat. That life storm of scarcity forced me to move to the safety God prepared and planned for me.
Action Step
If you want to break the cycle of fear, panic, and doubt, welcome Jesus into the boat of your lives rather than merely asking Him to remove the storm.
Appeal
Don’t just pray for the storm to end; pray for faith to trust Him through it because peace is not the absence of trouble but the presence of the Savior.
You get the Savior if you repent of your sins, confess Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, and ask Him to come into your life, He instantly becomes your Savior.
However, if you are saved, yet you feel He is silent, shift your focus to heavenly things. Put the Kingdom of God and His righteousness first, and everything will be added to you.
Inductive Bible Study: Observation, Interpretation, Application
Observation: What Does the Text Say?
- What three details does John emphasize about the disciples’ circumstances as they crossed the Sea of Galilee (John 6:16–18)? Why were the disciples crossing the sea? What was Jesus doing while they struggled against the wind (cross-reference Matthew 14:22–23 and Mark 6:45–48)?
- How far had the disciples traveled when they saw Jesus approaching (John 6:19)? What was unusual about Jesus’ approach? How did the disciples respond?
- What did Jesus say to the frightened disciples (John 6:20)? How did His words address their fear?
- How did the disciples respond to Jesus (John 6:21)? And what happened immediately afterward?
Interpretation: What Does the Text Mean?
- The disciples encountered a storm while obeying Jesus. What does this teach us about the relationship between obedience, suffering, and God’s will?
- The disciples had just witnessed Jesus feed thousands with five loaves and two fish. Why do you think they struggled to trust Him when they encountered the storm? Consider Mark 6:52.
- Mark 6:48 adds to the account in John 6:16-21 and tells us Jesus saw the disciples struggling, even though they could not see Him. What does this reveal about Christ’s knowledge, care, and authority over our circumstances?
- Jesus declared, “It is I; do not be afraid” in John 6:20. How does this statement, together with His walking on the water, reveal His divine identity and authority?
Application: How Should This Change Us?
- What storm are you currently facing— financial, relational, physical, spiritual, or emotional? How has it affected your focus on Christ?
- Sunday’s message described our tendency to treat God like a “spiritual emergency room.” How can you move from seeking God only in emergencies to cultivating daily dependence on Him?
- When circumstances seem overwhelming, what practical steps can help you shift your attention from the size of your problems to the sovereignty and promises of Christ?
- Sunday’s message emphasized, “True peace is not the absence of a storm; it is the presence of the divine Savior.” How does this truth challenge the common assumption that peace depends on favorable circumstances?
- Sunday’s message challenged us to welcome Jesus into the boat of our lives rather than merely asking Him to remove the storm. What would that look like in your decisions, relationships, priorities, and prayers this week?
- How would your response to your present difficulties change if you truly believed that Jesus sees you, knows your circumstances, and remains sovereign over your future?
Read More
John 6:14-15 Miracles: The Problem of Focus, Part 1
Listen to the Discussion