Storms!

By: Monique Smith Quick point-- I was just reading John 6:16-21.  When evening came, His disciples went down to the sea,  got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. Darkness had already set in, but Jesus had not yet come to them.  Then a high wind arose, and the sea began to churn.  After they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea. He was coming near the boat, and they were afraid.  But He said to them, "It is I. Don't be afraid!"  Then they were willing to take Him on board, and at once the boat was at the shore where they were heading. (John 6:16-21 HCSB) I have come to realize that everything in the Bible is there for a specific reason, so I kept pondering about the details in this passage. If you notice, when the disciples started out to sea, the sea was calm. But soon after, a storm came, followed by Jesus. This is significant because many times right before God does something spectacular in our life, we may go through a "storm". Think about the scripture again, right before Jesus WALKED ON WATER, a storm came up! Walking on water is miraculous! It's not something you normally see!  This has been true and evident in my life as well. For example, right before I got a job as a college adviser, I went through the "storm" of being rejected from a consulting firm, rejected from Teach for America, deferred from my  graduate school of choice, and experiencing high levels of fear, doubt, stress, and frustrations due to possibly not having a job after college. BUT after that "storm", here comes Jesus, providing me employment with UNC- Chapel Hill admissions as a college adviser! You all don't know how truly thankful I am to be employed by this program and the joy I feel while serving my students! It's an overwhelming feeling! I'm so blessed! So you all just hang in there and stick  it out! This may be your "storm" or you recently experienced a "storm" but If you stay on track (staying faithful and in the Word-- notice in the text the disciples didn't stop their journey or turn astray during the storm, they stayed on path--), God WILL come through in a major way! Prayer: God, you are my best friend! Help me love you more! Help me with my unbelief and eliminate my fear! Help me meditate on your word and realize that your plans are best for me and help me not lose faith in the process! I love you DADDY!