“ . . . he saith to them: It is I; be not afraid.”

After feeding the multitude, Jesus confounded His apostles by seeking seclusion instead of glory.

With darkness descending, the perplexed apostles ventured out by themselves on the Sea of Tiberius, a six-mile expanse of open water that stood between them and their hometown of Capernaum.

They had only covered a few miles when storm winds blew down on the lake, churning and boiling their way through the Golan Heights and the Galilean hill country. Roaring across the water, the ferocious winds and storm-tossed waves threatened to capsize the small fishing craft.

Every man summoned his last ounce of strength, put his back to the oars and pulled for the shore in what must have seemed like an eternity.

Physically spent and emotionally drained, they spied something terrifying, a ghostly image suddenly emerging from the gloom, coming right for them. Could it be the Leviathan, the sea dragon of the Old Testament? Could it be one of the great beasts of the sea that David had written about?

Before they could react, the ghostly figure called out to them in a voice they recognized:

"It is I. Do not be afraid."

It was Jesus, miraculously walking on the water, coming to their rescue - - just as He comes to our rescue  in the midst of life's storms.

The apostles’ faith was restored and they pulled for shore with renewed vigor. So, too, it us with all of us at times. The storms that put the fear of God in us can also make us take a closer look at the direction our lives are headed. At times, we may launch out into trackless waters, over-confident in our ability to weather life's storms and in our skill at  navigating its treacherous shoals. It may take a tempest to make us change course.

The winds of change can point us in the right direction as long as Jesus is on board.