A Very Present Help

And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.

So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs,
they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid.
-John 6:18-19

" The beginning of life is helped by our natural vigor and all manner of bright hopes and expectations. The end of life is lightened by the thought that it is the end. But the middle can be a difficult time. If there was glamor in our beginning, it has vanished now like the dew that has seen the sun, and sometimes a dullness creeps over the spirit there, and often the boat is distressed by the waves, for the wind is contrary. Is it not beautiful that our Lord Jesus drew night unto the ship just when it had reached the middle of the Lake? (The Sea of Galilee is about six miles broad at the broadest part.) Where we most need Him, there He is-there He always is- our very present Help."

-Amy Carmichael

Thou Givest They Gather CLC Publications. Fort Washington, PA. 2003.