Storms after the miracle

Jesus walks on water - John 6:16-21

Sometimes the storm comes right after the miracle.

In John’s Gospel, the disciples have just witnessed something extraordinary. Jesus has fed more than five thousand people with a few loaves and fish. The crowd is amazed. The disciples have gathered basket after basket of leftovers. It is a moment filled with abundance and wonder - a day that must have left them feeling like they had glimpsed something of the kingdom of God breaking into the world.

And then Jesus sends them into a boat.

There is no long celebration, no lingering moment to bask in the miracle. Instead, the disciples are told to cross the lake while Jesus goes off to pray. As the evening deepens, the wind begins to rise and the water grows rough. What began as a routine journey becomes something much more difficult. They row and row, but they make little progress. John tells us they have rowed three or four miles - a long distance under the best of conditions. In a storm, it would have been exhausting.

If you have lived long enough, you know something about this rhythm of life. Moments of grace do not mean the storms are over. Sometimes the very next chapter brings difficulty we did not expect. A season of blessing can quickly give way to a season of struggle.

The disciples had just experienced one of Jesus’ most extraordinary miracles, and yet here they are cold, wet, exhausted, and afraid.

This story reminds us of something important about faith. Experiencing God’s goodness yesterday does not mean life will be easy today. But those moments of grace still matter. They shape our memory. They remind us who God is. And when the wind begins to rise again, those memories can help us hold on.

God of every season, when the winds rise and the waves grow high, help me remember the ways you have already shown up in my life. Strengthen my trust that you are still at work, even now. Amen. 

^{This piece is offered by Sterling United Methodist Church and was written in collaboration between Rev. Bert Cloud and Sharon Rosenfeld. It is inspired by the book Seven Miracles: Signs of Life in the Gospel of John by Gina Anderson-Cloud, Megan Dietrick, Bill Gray, Daniel Park, Isaiah Park & Lauren Todd}