So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid.
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Jn 6:19.
In the Bible there are correcting storms and perfecting storms. Let me try to explain. When Jonah was commanded by God to preach to the city of Nineveh he ran. His disdain for the people of Nineveh was so great that his logic was overridden by it. He actually thought that he could hide from God. As a consequence of is poor decision and rebellion he spent three days and nights inside the fish. Jonah was outside the will of God. This was a correcting storm. God used the fish to put Jonah back on course.
The disciples encountered a perfecting storm. It wasn’t so much the physical elements of the storm as it was the elements of fear and helplessness that helped to refine them. Jesus instructed the disciples to get in the boat so the path toward the storm was within the will of Jesus. It was if Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen before He sent them on their way.
I see two separate types of fear in this passage. The fear of the known (the wind and water) and the fear of the unknown (a figure walking on the water toward them). When Jesus identified Himself he eased both fears. So what can we take away from this? First ask yourself, is this a correcting storm or a perfecting storm? We can try to determine that by asking, Am I in the will of God at this moment? If the answer is yes then it’s as if Jesus has identified Himself as He did with His disciples. A certain amount of peace comes with knowing that this is a perfecting storm and you are exactly where you are supposed to be. Embrace it and grow.
On the other hand, if you determine that you’re in a correcting storm change course immediately. This mainly involves repentance and the acceptance of something that you didn’t want to do or the rejection of something that you wanted. As you land on the beach as Jonah did (spiritually speaking of course) have peace knowing that you are back on the path God intended for you to begin with.