Because He Is

    In Matthew 14, by Jesus's command, the disciples went out in a boat to cross the sea they were by. For a while, things were hunky-dory. They were making progress, and things were good. But about halfway across the sea, they got into some trouble--that trouble being a massive storm that frightened even the tough, experienced fishermen.
    Can you imagine it? Being in a boat that was being rocked around like a leaf in a fountain, trying to splash as much water out as possible, half-sure that you were going to drown . . . when you suddenly see something out on the water. Something that impossibly looks just like a person.
    Of course, that figure was Christ--though the disciples thought that He was a ghost, which terrified them even more. What did Jesus say in response? In the NKJ version, His words were: "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." The footnote, however, says that the phrase "it is I" can be translated as "I am."
    I AM is one of the names of God; one of the most amazing ones. He was in the past, He is presently, and He will always be forever. He'll always be the same strong, loving, able, awesome God who rescues us. Which means that He can help us through storms now just like He has in the past, like when He parted the Red Sea, and when He stilled the waters of this chapter in Matthew.
    Storms come and go, but the Lord has always been and will never leave us alone. Whatever serious issue we go through today, the Lord is able to handle it. That's a comfort, isn't it?