"The Quiet Storm" Written By Yvonne Mark 6:47 47 Now when evening had come, the boat was out in the middle of the lake, and He (Jesus) was by Himself on land.   48 And having seen that they were troubled and tormented in (their) rowing, for the wind was against them, about the fourth watch of the night (between 3:00-6:00am)  He came to them, walking directly on the sea, and He acted as if He meant to pass by them.  49 But when they saw Him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and ceased a (deep, throaty) shriek of terror.  50 For they all saw Him and were agitated (troubled and filled with fear and dread).  But immediately He talked with them and said, Take heart! I AM!   Stop being alarmed and afraid.  51  and He went up into the boat with them, and the wind ceased.  And they were astonished exceeding. So tell me, have you ever related to this story?  Where you have found yourself in the middle of  circumstances that you feel have over taken you?  You continue to feel like every thing is against you and it blows from every direction? You know,  I find it interesting that the scripture states they were troubled and tormented in their own rowing, isn't that how it is with us?  We continue to do things our OWN way, in direct opposition of God's plan, which results in disobedience,  to guilt, fear and torment.   How many times have you been up during the middle of the night worrying about circumstances that storm around you,  that only you and God know about?  There is a quiet storm that brews inside of you.  You wouldn't dare share this with others for fear of what they would think.  But Jesus knows, Jesus is there with you... The enemy would like nothing more than to have you isolate yourself and carry the weight on your own. Just as the storm seems to appear bigger,  you can't recognize or sense that Jesus is in the midst of you.  His own disciples didn't even recognize Him at first, they thought he was a ghost, they were completely focused on the storm, trusting on what they saw, felt and heard.  Their focus was not on Him. He is saying the same to all of us, "Stop being afraid, Take heart, I am,  the I AM!"  He then gets in the boat with you, in the middle of your mess that surrounds you, and as you begin to let him take care of matters, and trust in him, and HIS ways, the storm will then be at rest inside of you. Your circumstances around you, may not change instantly, but how you react now to your circumstances will change, now that he has spoken peace to your mind.  You know it wasn't until the storm subsided and the disciples were on stable ground, until they fully recognized that it was Jesus all the while trying to comfort them.  Know that he is with you today, to calm the quiet storm inside of you.