On most Wednesdays here at Camp Barakel our staff gathers for an hour of fellowship before the noon hour. Our time typically includes announcements, singing, prayer and time together in the Bible before lunch.
This fall we’ve been looking at the major miracles of Jesus seen in the Gospel of John.
This Wednesday was my turn to preach with my topic being the miracle of Jesus walking on water, from John 6:15-21.
One thing I shared with our staff which was remarkable to me in my study of the passage, was the fact that John doesn’t give as many details about this miracle as the other Gospel accounts.
John’s mission is to show us Jesus. He wants his readers to simply believe in Jesus. So he doesn’t tell us about Peter walking on and then sinking in the water. He doesn’t even tell us about Jesus calming the stormy waters.
But John does show us Jesus.
And what we see is that Jesus may not rush immediately in to rescue us from our life storm. He may leave us there until we learn to trust Him more. But Jesus is there. And He does care.
The only words of Jesus that John shares in his account of this miracle are found in this simple, but powerful statement, “It is I; do not be afraid.” (John 6:20)
There is much work to accomplish here at Barakel in every season. But we do it all so that people will see Jesus and hear Him say, “It is I; do not be afraid.”