Six hours. That's how long the disciples had been rowing for their lives while Jesus prayed on the mountainside. Sometimes God's timing doesn't make sense to us, but there's always a purpose in His delays.
Mark 6:48 "Seeing them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night he came to them walking on the sea."
The word "straining" doesn't capture the full intensity of what's happening here. In the original Greek, it means "to be tormented." These experienced fishermen – at least seven of them had been doing this for 20-30 years – were being harassed by the storm. This was all hands on deck, fight for your life. Peter's yelling, "Row! Row harder!" This isn't just "Hey, this is pretty crazy." This is "We're being tormented by the storm."
It was the fourth watch of the night – between 3:00 and 6:00 AM. They had left Jesus around 9:00 PM, so they'd been rowing for at least six hours. The Sea of Galilee is narrow enough that in normal circumstances they could have crossed it in two hours. But here they are, six hours later, and they're not almost to shore – they're in the middle of the lake.
When is the night darkest? Right before dawn. So here they are at the darkest point of the night, in the middle of the lake, furthest from shore. The passage is trying to show you something: the disciples are absolutely hopeless. They've been rowing and rowing and rowing, and they've gone nowhere. It's dark, they can't see because of the storm, the wind, the waves. There's water in their eyes. They're clueless.
And this is when Jesus comes.
Why does Jesus come at this point? Why not earlier? Because so often in the storms of life, our first instinct is to do what Peter did – row, row, row. We recruit our own abilities, then we recruit the abilities of the people next to us, and then, as a last resort, we learn to lean on God.
As Kent Hughes says, "You may know Christ, but you will never know Him deeply until He comes to you in the storms of life."
But here's what I want you to see: Long before they saw Jesus, it says Jesus was "seeing them straining at the oars." He was watching them. He was not just observing them – He was watching them like one who loves His own.
This is the reality for us: many times when we feel like God is most distant, He is actually most near. Jesus had already tried to ingrain in the minds of the disciples the reality of His providential care and love. "Are not two sparrows sold for a single penny? And your Father cares for the sparrows, and not one of them falls to the ground apart from the predetermined plan and watchful gaze of God. If that's God's care toward a sparrow that'll live its entire life, fall to the ground in the middle of the forest, and no one will care – how much more will God care for those who are made in His image?"
Are you in the middle of one of life’s storms? God knows you. He watches you. His omniscient gaze is not aloof, detached, or disconnected. He is the Good Shepherd who cares and never loses sight of a single lamb in His flock.
His eye is upon you. When you feel like you're rowing for your life and getting nowhere, when it's dark and you can't see, when you feel most alone – that's often when He's watching most intently, waiting for the perfect moment to reveal His glory and strengthen your faith.
1. Can you recall a time when you felt God was distant but later realized He was actually very near?
2. How does knowing that God is watching you with the care of a Good Shepherd change your perspective on current struggles?
3. What would it look like to trust God's timing even when His delays don't make sense to you?
Stay dialed in.
