Jesus walks on water - Mark 6:45-52

When You're Rowing Hard But Getting Nowhere

Sometimes it can feel like you're doing everything right, but life keeps pushing back. You're rowing as hard as you can, but you're not getting anywhere. The wind is against you, the darkness is closing in, and God seems strangely silent.

In this blog post, based on a talk by Matt Edmundson, we explore one of the most dramatic stories in the Gospels — Jesus walking on water. But this isn't just about a miracle that defies physics. It's about what happens when God leads us into storms, watches us struggle, and then shows up in ways we never expected.

When Obedience Leads to Struggle

We are looking at Mark 6:45-52.

Here's something that might surprise you: the disciples were in that storm because they obeyed Jesus.

After feeding the 5,000, Jesus told them to get in the boat and sail across the lake. At night. Which was something fishermen just didn't do. The Sea of Galilee was notorious for sudden storms, and without GPS or lights, sailing at night was genuinely dangerous.

But they did it anyway. They trusted Jesus and got in the boat.

And then everything went wrong.

As Matt pointed out, "There are sometimes when God leads us and takes us to places and we're like, God, what is going on? Can you please tell me? Because I just don't get it."

Sound familiar?

Character Over Comfort

Matt shared a quote that's equal parts challenging and uncomfortable: "God's more interested in my character than he is interested in my comfort."

It's not what we want to hear. But when you look at this story, it's hard to argue with. Jesus could have calmed the storm before it started. He could have teleported across the lake. He could have done any number of things to make this easier for his friends.

Instead, he let them struggle.

Peter — who was in that boat — later wrote something fascinating about suffering. He said that when we share in difficulties, we "can share in the revelation of his glory and celebrate with even greater gladness."

In other words, sometimes the struggle is where the revelation happens. The disciples saw something that night they would never have witnessed from a comfortable shore: Jesus walking on stormy water, proving that even the chaos is under his feet.

He Sees You Straining

Here's a detail that's easy to miss. The passage says Jesus "could see that they were straining at the oars, trying to make headway."

But Jesus was on land. The disciples were in the middle of a lake that's about 64 square miles — roughly the size of Washington DC. There's no way he could have seen them naturally.

This was supernatural sight. From miles away, through the darkness and the storm, Jesus saw exactly what was happening.

Matt put it simply: "Sometimes God can feel far away. We're in the middle of this and God is removed from it. But he still sees us and he's aware of what is happening around us."

That matters. Because when you're straining at the oars and getting nowhere, it can feel like nobody notices. But he does.

Why Did He Wait So Long?

This is where the story gets uncomfortable. The disciples had been struggling all night. Hours of rowing, getting nowhere, probably terrified. And Jesus watched.

It wasn't until "almost morning" — somewhere between 3am and 6am — that he finally walked out to them.

Why the delay?

Matt was honest: "I don't think I know exactly why he waited. I just know that he did. Which leads me to the conclusion that sometimes I just have to say to myself, regardless of what's going on, Jesus sees me. But he's gonna do this according to his timetable, not mine."

That's hard to accept when you're in the middle of the storm. When you're looking for work and doors keep slamming. When the relationship isn't healing. When the diagnosis hasn't changed.

But here's what Matt has learned: "Don't waste a good trial."

Because at some point — maybe not when we expect — Jesus shows up.

Did Jesus Really Walk on Water?

Let's address the elephant in the room. Did this actually happen?

Matt was direct about it: "I believe wholeheartedly Jesus walked on water because I believe wholeheartedly Jesus was God. And God can do that kind of stuff."

He quoted MIT professor Ian Hutchinson, who defined a miracle as "an extraordinary act of God by which God upholds part of the universe in a manner different from normal."

And journalist Rebecca McLaughlin, who wrote: "To believe in the God of the Bible who created the universe and not to believe in miracles is rather obtuse."

The point isn't whether we can explain it scientifically. The point is what it reveals about who Jesus is.

In the Old Testament, Job says about God: "He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea." When Jesus walked on water, he was doing something that scripture said only God could do.

Do Not Yield to Fear

When the disciples saw Jesus walking towards them, they didn't fall to their knees in worship. They screamed.

They thought he was a ghost.

Which is actually quite relatable. When something happens that we can't explain — when God shows up in unexpected ways — our first instinct isn't always faith. Sometimes it's fear.

But look at what Jesus said: "Do not yield to fear. Have courage. It's really me. I am."

Matt loved that phrase "do not yield." It doesn't mean fear won't show up. It means we don't have to let it win.

"Don't let it have first place," Matt explained. "It's there. We see it, we acknowledge it. But fear is not gonna win. And that choice is actually yours and mine."

When Jesus Gets in the Boat

Here's the moment everything changes. Jesus climbed into the boat "and immediately the stormy wind became still."

Not before. Not while he was walking on water. Only when he got in the boat with them.

There's something beautiful there. Jesus doesn't just calm our storms from a distance. He gets in the boat with us. He enters the chaos. He's present in the middle of it.

And that's when things start to settle.

The Lesson They Missed

The story ends with a striking observation. The disciples were "completely and utterly overwhelmed with astonishment because they failed to learn the lesson of the miracle of the loaves and their hearts were unwilling to learn the lesson."

Just hours earlier, they'd watched Jesus feed 5,000 families with five loaves and two fish. But somehow that miracle hadn't prepared them for this one.

As Matt noted, "Miracles don't teach you anything. They show you that God is real. They show you that God is above nature and natural stuff. But it's up to you and it's up to me to understand the lessons from those."

We can witness amazing things and still miss the point. The invitation is to stay teachable — to keep asking God what he's trying to show us.

What This Means for Monday Morning

Here's where this gets practical:

• Trust the process, even when it doesn't make sense. The disciples were in the storm because they obeyed. Sometimes obedience leads to difficulty before it leads to breakthrough.

• Remember that God sees you. Even when he feels distant, even when the struggle is invisible to everyone else, he knows exactly what you're going through.

• Be patient with God's timing. He works on his timetable, not yours. That doesn't mean he's forgotten you.

• Don't yield to fear. It will show up. You don't have to give it first place.

• Stay teachable. When God does something in your life, ask what he's trying to show you. Don't miss the lesson.

A Story Worth Remembering

Matt shared a personal story that brings this home. Years ago, he believed God had promised him a business — a company selling saunas and steam rooms. But then someone else bought it. He had a newborn baby and no income.

"God, it's gonna be interesting to see how you sort this drama out," he remembers thinking.

Five years later, that same business was offered to him for free. The manufacturer came to him and said they wanted him back.

"Five years was a long time," Matt admitted. "Being patient during that time was tricky and difficult. But at the end of those five years, God came through. He works on his timetable."

A Question Worth Asking

What storm are you in the middle of right now? And what would change if you believed that Jesus could see you straining at the oars — even from a distance, even in the dark?

Maybe the miracle isn't that the storm stops immediately. Maybe the miracle is that he walks across the chaos to get to you.

Because that's what this story tells us about who Jesus is. He's not distant. He's not disinterested. He's the God who treads on the waves of the sea — and climbs into the boat to be with us.