The Voice That Calms Every Storm

In the howling wind and crashing waves, one voice pierced through the chaos. It wasn't just any voice – it was the voice that spoke the universe into existence, and it's the same voice that speaks peace into your storms today.

John 6:20 "But he said to them, 'It is I; do not be afraid.'"

Through the howling winds and the shouting of the disciples – "Look! Look! Row! Row! Look, a ghost! A ghost!" – there is a voice that pierces through the darkness and through the storm. But what Jesus said gets lost in our English translation.

When Jesus greets His disciples, it's no customary greeting. He doesn't just say "It is I." In the original Greek, He says "Ego eimi" – "I AM." The Jewish believers would have known that to be a claim of deity. This is the same name God gave Moses at the burning bush: "Tell them I AM THAT I AM has sent you."

Jesus isn't just saying "Hey guys, it's me." He's declaring His divine identity in the middle of their greatest fear. And then He gives them a command that appears 365 times in Scripture – more than any other negative prohibition: "Do not fear."

Here's what's beautiful about this moment: it's not just that Jesus appears and the storm stops. It's that in their moment of greatest terror, Jesus reveals who He is. The disciples, like Moses before them, find their fear beginning to be hushed just at the mention of God's name.

But then we get to Peter's part of the story. Peter says, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." People often criticize Peter, but I think we miss something important. Peter didn't want to do a magic trick – he wanted to be with Jesus. And outside of Jesus Christ, Peter is the only person in known history who ever walked on water.

Once Peter stepped out of the boat, it was as if he stepped on stone. It was firm because his eyes were fixed solely and directly on Jesus Christ. But then verse 30 says, "Seeing the wind, he became frightened and began to sink, and he cried out, 'Lord, save me!'"

Why did Peter begin to sink? Because he took his eyes off Jesus Christ and instead focused on the wind and waves around him. The moment he began to look at the problems and pressures instead of the promises of God, he began to sink.

This is so often what we do. We fix our gaze on Jesus Christ until something else becomes larger in our peripheral vision, and that becomes our central focus, and we all but lose sight of Jesus.

But notice Jesus's response in verse 31: "Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him." The hand that upholds the universe by the word of His power grabbed Peter with a strong, commanding, authoritative, yet loving and tender hand.

Jesus never rebuked Peter for wanting to come toward Him. He rebuked the littleness and feebleness and faltering of his faith. And here's what Spurgeon said: "Peter was nearer his Lord when he was sinking than when he was walking." It's in that moment of Peter's greatest dependency and greatest need that he experienced the greatest intimacy with Jesus Christ.

Jesus brings peace to whatever storm you're in. One thing He doesn't always do is change the storm. He doesn't always change your circumstances, but He always brings peace. You could be in a storm right now, going through great difficulty, and that's why Jesus says in John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives."

When you think of peace, you think of the disappearance of difficulty. Jesus says no – I give you a peace that the world knows nothing about, because you can be in the middle of great difficulty and experience peace that is supernatural.

Stay dialed in.