John 6:16

John 6:16 says, And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea,  While Jesus was on the mountain, as evening came, His disciples got in a boat to cross over to Capernaum.  At this point, they were not following Jesus or even waiting on Him.  When we feel that we are away from God, we don’t have to go seeking Him because He never really leaves us, nor should we just do what we normally do without being sure we are following Him.  We just need to be still and know that He will direct us.     Verse seventeen adds, And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.  Then it got dark.  We can make the analogy that when they left the presence of Jesus they were in spiritual darkness as well. When we begin to move through life without the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we are in spiritual darkness.  We are still His by the salvation of Christ, but we are not following as we should.   Verse eighteen adds, And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.  After darkness came the storm.  When we leave Jesus out of our life, first will be a time of spiritual darkness, and then the storms will come.  Verse nineteen continues, So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid.  The disciples managed to row twenty-five or thirty furlongs.  They were making some progress against the storm, and we may be able to accomplish some things on our own against the storms of life, but it won’t be easy. Then, in the midst of the storm, they saw Jesus walking on the sea.  The storm was still there, but where they had been rowing to get anywhere, Jesus walked across the stormy sea to get to them.  In the midst of our spiritual storms, there can be nothing more comforting than the presence of the Holy Spirit coming to us through the storm.  Verse twenty declares, But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.  Jesus told them not to be afraid, because he was coming to them.  We can rest just as certainly in the presence of the Holy Spirit, if we accept His assurance and leadership.  No matter what the storm might be, we need not be afraid.  Verse twenty-one adds, Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.  The disciples willingly accepted Jesus into the boat and immediately got to where they were going. That is what we must do.  We must immediately accept the Holy Spirit back into the role of leadership in our life, and then the storm will cease, and we will be on our way to fulfilling our purpose once again.