Courage in the Chaos

“When they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’” Mark 6:49-50 (NIV)

It’s only in the storms of life that I learn what Jesus is really like. I see that he’s not a mere man. He’s not just a nice teacher or an ethical leader. He is God, the Creator of the universe.

In Mark 6, Jesus noticed the disciples were in distress. They were in the middle of a lake, where the wind and waves were pounding their boat and keeping them from making any progress. And so Jesus walked out to them on the water. “When they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid’” (Mark 6:49-50 NIV).

The disciples still had some nagging doubts—maybe Jesus was just a nice prophet who could do some miracles. But by walking on water, Jesus revealed he was far more than just a man. He showed them he was God.

He also gave them a challenge: “Don’t be afraid.” And he reassured them: “It is I.”

In Greek, the language this part of the Bible was originally written in, the phrase “It is I” is actually two words: ego ima. Ego ima simply means “I Am.” Why is that important?

The name of God is “I Am”—not “I was” or “I will be” or “I hope to be.” When Jesus says, “I Am,” he is saying that I don’t need to be afraid. I don’t need to sweat it. He is God. And that is enough.

If I'm going through a storm, I don’t need a job—I need Jesus. I don’t need a plan—I need a person. I don’t need a system—I need a Savior. I don’t need a new goal—I need God. 

When I'm going through a storm, remember that God is not distant, apathetic, or uninvolved. He is “I Am.” And he will get me through the storm.

In summary:

In the storms of life, I can come to truly understand who Jesus is—not just a teacher or prophet, but God Himself. In Mark 6:49-50, when the disciples were terrified by the sight of Jesus walking on water, he calmed their fears with the words, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” The phrase “It is I” (ego eimi) echoes God’s divine name, “I Am,” revealing Jesus’ identity as the eternal, ever-present God. His presence in the storm reminds me that I don’t ultimately need solutions or systems—I need Him. When life feels overwhelming, Jesus doesn't stay distant; He comes near, speaks peace, and proves He is enough.

Bottom Line:

In the middle of life’s storms, Jesus reveals that He is God—ever-present, powerful, and enough—and His presence brings the peace and courage I need.

When Pain Becomes a Teacher

“God teaches people through suffering and uses distress to open their eyes.” Job 36:15 (GNT)

There are some things we only learn through pain—and sometimes it’s through the pain of other people.

It's wise for me to learn from my own experiences, but it’s wiser to learn from the experiences of others—and to let others learn from my pain. I don't have time to make all the mistakes myself! That’s why it’s important to learn from each other’s mistakes—but only if I'm honest about how God uses pain to get my attention and teach me important lessons in life.

Job 36:15 says, "God teaches people through suffering and uses distress to open their eyes" (GNT).

What does God want me to understand about the distress I'm going through right now? What am I learning? Once I've learned it, he wants me to pass those lessons on to others.

We all go through different kinds of trouble. But no matter what my  specific pain is, God wants me to learn these three things from it:

First, I learn to depend more on God through my pain. God wants to teach me about himself—about his power through my weakness, his love when I feel unlovely, his grace when I feel unforgiven, and his wisdom when I don't know which way to turn.

Second, I learn to trust and obey God's Word when I'm in pain. It's easy to trust God when things are going great. It's not so easy when things are going bad.

King David said in Psalm 119:67, "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word" (NIV). Lessons learned through failure and painful mistakes will drive me to claim and trust in God’s promises. His Word provides hope that he is with me and has not stopped working for me and in me.

Third, I learn through pain that I need other people. If I never had any pain in my life, I wouldn't think I needed anybody. It's only in pain that some people admit that they need others to help them. Pain is one of the most powerful reminders that I'm not meant to go through life alone.

So when I go through pain, I need to trust that what God is teaching me will be helpful to others as I pass the lessons on to friends, family, and even future generations.

In summary:

Pain is one of God's most powerful teaching tools, often opening my eyes to deeper truths I might otherwise miss. According to Job 36:15, God uses suffering to instruct us, and through our distress, we learn vital lessons—not just about ourselves, but also about God’s power, grace, and presence. While it’s wise to learn from my own mistakes, it’s even wiser to learn from others' experiences—and to let others learn from ours. Pain teaches me to depend more on God, to trust and obey His Word more deeply, and to recognize my need for others. Ultimately, the lessons I learn in hardship are not just for me; they are meant to be shared to help others find hope and wisdom in their own struggles.

Bottom line: 

God uses pain to grow us, draw us closer to Him, and equip us to help others through what we’ve learned.

When You’re Sinking

“But when [Peter] saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’” Matthew 14:30 (NIV)

When I'm going through a storm, God is not distant or uninvolved. He is with me, and he is working in my life for my good. 

When I feel I'm sinking in a storm, here are five things God wants me to do:

Have courage, because Jesus is with me.
Don’t ever argue with a fear. Just send it straight to Jesus! 

Take a risk in faith.
Don’t ask God to bless what I are doing. Instead, do what God is blessing. Ask him what he wants me to do, and then be willing to do it with him.

Stay focused on Jesus.
The moment I take your eyes off the Lord, I'll go under. Matthew 14:30 says, “But when [Peter] saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’”  (NIV). If I focus on the wind and the waves—my circumstances—I'm going to sink, just like Peter.

Don’t doubt.
I don’t need great faith to make it through the storm in my life. I just need faith in the right person—Jesus Christ.

Praise God.
Even in the storm, even when I feel like I'm sinking, even when I'm scared to death—praise him all the time. Thanking God is how I make it through.

What storm is scaring me right now? What storm is sinking me? Why do I think God is letting me go through this storm?

He’s letting me go through this storm for the same reasons he sent the disciples into the storm. He wants me to know: He's all I need. I can handle anything. And I’ll come walking on the very thing that scares me the most. He is not asking me to come to him. He's going to come to me.”

If I feel like I'm sinking today, don’t fear. Just call out to Jesus. I'll find he’s with me.

In summary:

Matthew 14:30 reminds me that when Peter took his eyes off Jesus and focused on the wind, fear took over and he began to sink—just like I do in life’s storms. But storms aren’t signs that God is distant; they are opportunities to trust Him more deeply. In the middle of fear, uncertainty, or sinking moments, God calls me to take courage, step out in faith, stay focused on Him, silence doubt, and praise Him anyway. He allows storms not to punish me, but to prove that He is all I need. When I cry out, “Lord, save me,” He always comes to me—right on top of the very thing that once scared me.

Bottom Line:

When life’s storms make me feel like I’m sinking, I don’t need to have it all together—I just need to keep my eyes on Jesus and call out to Him, because He is always near and ready to save.

Rescued in the Storm

“About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water.” Mark 6:48 (NLT)

I have had storms in life that blew my life off course.

In Mark 6, Jesus sent the disciples ahead of him to Bethsaida while he went off by himself to pray. It wasn’t a long trip by boat, but the disciples were blown off course by a storm. When Jesus saw them struggling against the wind in the middle of the lake, he came to their aid.

Did my life feel like the disciples’ did during that storm?

What does Jesus do when I'm at my moment of desperation? Mark 6:48 says, “About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water” (NLT). Notice that he didn’t tell the disciples to come to him. He knew they couldn’t get to him. So he went to them instead. The same is true for me. When I'm at my point of desperation, Jesus comes to me!

I love the fact that Jesus did not stand on the shore and shout instructions. When I'm in a storm, I don’t need advice. I need a miracle! I need somebody to show up, and that’s what Jesus did. He intervened in the disciples’ storm.

This is the gospel: God doesn’t stand on the shoreline telling me what to do; instead, he comes out and meets me in my own storm—in my pain, fear, depression, and discouragement. He comes to me. What a God!

I may feel abandoned but I'm not. The Living Bible paraphrase says, “I will not abandon you or leave you as orphans in the storm—I will come to you” (John 14:18). I can count on it!

In summary:

Mark 6:48 reveals the heart of Jesus in life’s storms—He doesn’t wait for me to find my way to Him; He comes to me. Just as the disciples were blown off course and struggling in the dark, Jesus walked on water to meet them at their point of desperation. When I feel lost, afraid, or overwhelmed, Jesus doesn’t shout instructions from afar—He steps into the storm with me. This is the essence of the gospel: I’m never abandoned, even when it feels like it. Jesus shows up in my pain, fear, and discouragement, bringing the miracle and presence I truly need.

Bottom Line:

Jesus doesn’t wait for me to find Him—He comes to me in the middle of my storm, bringing hope, help, and the miracle I need most.

Beyond What You Can Imagine

“‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the LORD. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.’” Isaiah 55:8 (NLT)

I may face seemingly impossible challenges in life. Something that couldn’t be solved without a miracle?

When that time comes, I’ll have a choice. I can wait on God’s timing and his way. Or I can take matters into my own hands and try to make a miracle happen myself.

But the truth is that miracles don’t come from the places I expect them. And they don’t come as a result of my own effort. The source of a miracle is always unexpected.

Take Abraham, for example. God told Abraham that he was going to have a son, and that the son would be the father of a great nation. Abraham was nearly 100 years old, and he and his wife had no children. It would take a miracle to make it happen.

But Abraham had trouble believing God’s promise, and he didn’t wait on God to work a miracle. Instead, he took matters into his own hands and had a child with a woman who wasn’t his wife.

That wasn’t God’s plan. God’s plan had been to work a miracle in Abraham’s wife, Sarah. Abraham’s solution was inferior to God’s.

The same is true for me. My way of making things happen is always second best—God’s way is best.

Sometimes it’s hard to understand God’s plan. In fact, if I could always understand God, I would be God. But I'm not! Isaiah 55:8 says, “‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the LORD. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine’” (NLT).

Miracles always come in unexpected ways. So there’s no need to fret, fear, or try to figure it out.  

Trust God and say, “I don’t know how God is going to do it, but I know he will do it.”

Then simply obey and follow where God leads. And get ready for a miracle.

In summary:

Isaiah 55:8 reminds me that God’s thoughts and ways are far beyond my own, especially when facing challenges that seem impossible. When I try to force solutions in my own strength—like Abraham did—I often settle for something less than God’s best. Miracles don’t come from my effort or logic; they come from God’s unexpected and perfect timing. Even when I can’t see or understand His plan, we can trust that He is working. My role is to wait patiently, obey faithfully, and believe confidently that God will come through—just not always in the way I expect.

Bottom Line:

God’s way is always better than mine—when I trust His timing and surrender control, I open the door for miracles I could never create on my own.

Seeing People Like Jesus Does

“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” Mark 6:34 (NIV)

How can I know if I'm looking at life from God’s viewpoint? Think about the way I see other people.

How I see others is a great test of my spiritual maturity. It’s a better indicator of my spiritual maturity than how much Scripture I know, how often I attend church, or whether I serve, tithe, or pray.

Life is all about love and relationships. So if I want to gauge my spiritual maturity, think about how I see other people.

Consider, how God sees my wife; Valuable. Acceptable. Lovable. Forgivable. Is that the way I see my wife?

How about the stranger at the grocery store? The person who cut me off in traffic? The beggar on the street? What do I see when I look at other people? Do I see them as irritations and burdens?

What about the people I work with? Do I see them as enemies? Competition? Or do I see them the way God sees them?

All people matter to God. It doesn’t matter who they are, what they’ve done, or even what they believe. Jesus Christ died for them. He loves them. God has a plan for every person, and he wants them to have a relationship with him.

The Bible says in Mark 6:34, “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd” (NIV).

That’s the way Jesus sees people. And that’s the way I can grow to see people too. I can learn to have compassion for my own family as well as for my neighbors, community, country, and the rest of the world.

Let my spiritual vision get stronger as I learn to see people the way Jesus does.

In summary:

Mark 6:34 shows me the heart of Jesus—full of compassion for people who were lost and in need, like sheep without a shepherd. This verse challenges me to evaluate my own spiritual maturity not by religious activity, but by how I see and treat others. God calls for me to view people—family, strangers, coworkers, even those who frustrate me—with His eyes: as valuable, lovable, and forgivable. Every person matters deeply to God, and true spiritual growth means developing a heart of compassion that sees people the way Jesus does and responds with love.

Bottom Line:

Spiritual maturity for me isn’t measured by religious activity but by how I see and treat others—true growth means seeing people through the compassionate eyes of Jesus.

Where God Guides, He Provides, Obedience is the Key to Unlocking It

“My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

Waiting for a miracle can be hard. Sometimes the road is cold, dark, and lonely; I may even find myself stuck in a rut. I might not know where I'm going or how long the journey will take.

No matter where I am on the way to my miracle, here are some things to keep in mind:

God is all I need.
I don’t need a big bank account, a full refrigerator, or even a job. If God wants to, he can have ravens drop food on me as his way of providing. That’s how he provided for the prophet Elijah, who was exhausted and burned-out in the desert; see 1 Kings 17. When God turns off one source of provision, he can turn on another just as easily. I can trust him for all my needs.

Where God guides, God provides.
After sending the ravens to feed Elijah, God told him to make a dangerous trip to Zarephath. There was a drought in Zarephath and very little food. Yet God provided for Elijah through a poor widow with a generous heart. When God tells me to go somewhere, go immediately. When God tells me to do something, do it right away. When God gives me direction, he will provide what I need to get there.

I must trust him one day at a time.
Why? Because some of your problems persist day after day. For instance, if I had financial problems, I'll have to deal with them every day. And so I must trust God one day at a time to provide. The Bible says, “My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NIV).

God’s promises work when I'm obedient.
God often lays out his plan just one step at a time. He wants me to take the first step in obedience, and then he’ll show me the next step. Each step along the way may not seem logical, but I can obey in faith and confidence, knowing God’s way is always best. 

In summary:

Philippians 4:19 assures us that God will meet all my needs through His limitless riches in Christ. While waiting for a miracle can feel lonely, uncertain, and slow, I am reminded that God is my ultimate provider—He alone is enough. Just as He provided for Elijah through ravens and a widow during a drought, He can supply in unexpected ways. Where God leads, He also provides, but His provision often unfolds one day and one step at a time. Trusting Him requires daily faith and immediate obedience, even when the path doesn’t make sense. God's promises are activated through trust and faithful action.

Bottom Line:

God will always provide what I need—your job is to trust Him daily and obey Him step by step, even when the way forward isn’t clear.