Shortly before a spiritually very rough time, I was asked to preach on Peter walking on the water (Mt. 14:22-36; Mk. 6:45-56; Jn. 6:14-21). As the disciples were obeying Jesus, they were blown off course by the storm. Fine, that happens. But what really stuck with me was that Jesus, seeing their distress, miraculously came to them and comforted them with his voice and his presence. About this same time, I was introduced to Leeland’s album Invisible (Bethel Music, 2016). The title track of the album talks exactly about this, stating in the chorus:

I see you standing in the wind and waves
I’m never alone
You’re not invisible

Over this last month this song especially (and the album as a whole) kept bringing me back to this: in this storm, Jesus is there, even though I may not be able to see him. He is there. He is there. Repeating this over again while struggling with feelings of anger, inadequacy and disappointment, while hurting deeply is one thing that made me ready to receive the reproof necessary to come back to a more balanced space. Jesus climbed into my boat at the right time, because he came to me. And despite the howling wind and crashing waves, I heard him call, “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid” (Mt. 14:27 – HCSB). And that was enough.