It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
Perhaps we have experienced a darkness like this. In a boat, far from shore, with limited options, limited awareness, hampered in our attempts by a strong wind blowing. Moreover, what if we are in these circumstances because we felt Jesus himself called us to be? These are moments when we would expect him to show up and yet "Jesus had not yet come to them". If we were writing this story about ourselves it surely would have had Jesus come and give us directions to avert the storm in the first place. Yet it would sometimes seem as though Jesus himself were the one who gave us the directions that sent us into the heart of the storm. But as Sirach reminds us, "My child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials" (see Sirach 2:1). This hardly seems like the thing for which we signed up at first. And yet we are given to understand that this is a normal part of Christian life.
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies (see Second Corinthians 4:8-10).
But we may ask, whose trust is greater? Is it the one who is kept from experiencing trials? Or is it the one who, through experience, gains confidence that the Lord will triumph in every trial we face?
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all (see Psalm 34:19).
The Lord's ultimate desire is that we come to know him, and to recognize him when he says "It is I" as the same one who said to Moses, "I AM THAT I AM" (see Exodus 3:14). In our fallen condition, with hearts full of doubt, he can more completely lead us to this realization, not by shielding us from every storm, but by demonstrating his control over even the most chaotic and apparently hopeless situations.
They wanted to take him into the boat,
but the boat immediately arrived at the shore
to which they were heading.
It may seem to trivialize what we were doing in the storm when Jesus arrives and immediately and effortlessly brings us to the shore. But this is not the case. Waiting on the Lord was in fact the point. As Jesus taught, "the one who endures to the end will be saved" (see Matthew 24:13). There is only one who walks upon the waves, whom even storms obey. May we learn to trust him. If the storms will not ultimately work for our good may he deliver us in advance. But if it be his will for us to derive some good for our time in the boat, may we trust that he will nevertheless not fail to come to us.
Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
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