Matthew 14:23 “But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. 27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.”
Our Lord was in a private place, praying; but, “the ship” that His “disciples” were in “was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves”! Furthermore, “the wind was contrary”; that is, the wind was blowing against them, making it extremely difficult to make any progress toward the other side of the sea. They were doing exactly what the Lord had commanded them to do, but “the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves”. The “wind was contrary”, blowing against them to hinder their efforts to obey the Lord. They were simply trying to obey the Lord; but they were “now” in great peril. There are times when we are striving with all our might to obey the Lord, but it seems that everything in the world is working against us, and we might begin to wonder, “Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore?” (Psalms 77:8). But, let us never forget that He does know our condition; therefore, we have every reason to “Be of good cheer” and to “be not afraid”; we can be assured that our “Good Shepherd” (John 10:11) is still watching over us!