God Leads His Dear Children Along

In John chapter six we are told of the disciples rowing across the sea of Galilee at evening when it was dark. Jesus had stayed behind on land that He might have some time alone in prayer. Soon, those in the boat, found themselves in a storm, "a great wind blew." At that very hour Jesus came to them walking on the water saying, "It is I; be not afraid." It was then we are told, "immediately the ship was at the land." 

There are times when the storms in our lives seem to end as quickly as they started. But this is not always the case. In Acts chapter twenty-seven Paul, along with two-hundred and seventy-six other souls, was in a storm, and there was a, "tempestuous wind." And they were, "exceeding tossed with tempest." All hope of them being saved was gone. At this point, Paul shows up on deck and says in the midst of this violent gale for all to be of good cheer and not to be afraid. Everything would be alright.

Interestingly, unlike the storm in the gospel account, this one did not immediately end, but continued on. After Paul's assuring words the ship was still "driven up and down," and violent waves broke the hinder part of the ship, so that all had to swim or float to shore on broken pieces of the ship. But notice in both cases, the gospel account and Acts, they all came through the storm. Like the song, "God Leads His Dear Children Along," some one way, others another. One thing we can be sure of, we'll all stand together safe on His eternal shore!