A Prayer for When Storms Arise
By Tammy Darling
Bible Reading:
“That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’” Mark 4:35, NIV
Listen or Read Below:
During a time of prayer, my husband heard the words, “Build a boat.” Asking me what I thought it meant, I jokingly replied, “I don’t know. Maybe we’re going on a cruise.”
For weeks, we pondered the meaning of those words, with no further insight from the Lord. We simply did not know what “build a boat” meant.
And then a storm arose.
My husband reluctantly went to the local convenient care center after experiencing pain on the right side of his neck, which then radiated down his chest. After being sent to another clinic for further testing, he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
From the initial diagnosis, my husband had perfect peace; I, not so much. I feared losing my husband of nearly thirty-five years; I had known him since I was nine years old.
Though I took my fear to God and kept my focus on relevant Scripture, I still didn’t feel the peace my husband did. Even though my husband, at twelve years old, lost his father to cancer, he had absolute peace that he was going to be okay.
“Build a boat.” Why? Because we were going to the other side. Just as the disciples did, we needed that boat to get to the other side.
After a long day, Jesus told his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Long story short: Jesus took a nap. A storm arose. Jesus calmed the storm, and subsequently, his disciples.
God told my husband to “build a boat” because we were about to be tossed about in a storm we never saw coming.
My husband’s thyroid was completely encased with a mass, and so the doctor said the thyroid would need to be completely removed, along with surrounding lymph nodes, “to be safe.” The doctor was convinced the surgery would take care of this “easily treatable” cancer, and all would be well.
Given all these positives, I was not prepared for the surgeon’s first words to me after a three-hour operation: “The surgery didn’t go as planned.” (Major waves rocking the boat right here.)
This surgeon, while top-notch in his field, is known for his bluntness. My heart hit the floor, and I was speechless. I held my breath as the surgeon continued: “The mass was larger than I thought… attached to the back of the throat… couldn’t get all the cancer… the right side of his throat is paralyzed.”
A T-Rex walking into the waiting room would not have been more shocking. When the surgeon asked if I had any questions, all I could do was shake my head no. I had all the questions; I was just in shock and unable to speak.
I recalled the boat my husband was instructed to build and the message behind it. While we would have loved to see instantaneous healing, God had other plans. God wanted to take us through. Through the trial. Through the uncertainty. Through the storm. To the other side.
My husband was going to be okay, and I mostly believed that now, but I also believed that this was something Jesus wanted us to go through, just as with His disciples. And I had no idea how long it would take to get to the other side. Because all the cancer was unable to be removed, further treatment would be required.
Eight months later, after a $48,000 radiation pill, a full body scan revealed my husband was cancer-free. The cancer was completely eradicated, just not in the way or the timing we had hoped.
This going to “the other side” stuff was hard, I’m not going to lie. Those middle moments can try one’s faith like nothing else can. Like the disciples, all I could see were the waves battering the sides of the boat and feeling the wind tossing me back and forth. Perhaps that’s why Jesus asked his disciples after He calmed the storm, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” Like the man whose son needed deliverance in Mark 9:24, I could only reply, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.”
Being battered and tossed about by the waves of life—life’s like that sometimes, isn’t it? But here’s the thing: Jesus is with us in the boat. We’re not alone!
And we need those middle moments, as much as we’d like to avoid them. Those middle moments are sacred. Holy. Some of the greatest growth we’ll ever experience comes from going through something to get to the other side. These are the moments that grow our faith and trust in God.
Let’s Pray:
Jesus,
We thank You that even through the roughest of storms, You are with us. In that knowledge, we can rest, nap even, as You did in the boat when the storm raged on. When You say we are going to the other side, we rest assured that we will make it through whatever trial we are facing. You are truly with us in all things.
With grateful hearts we pray, Amen.
Discuss today’s devotional with others in the Your Daily Prayer thread on the Crosswalk Forum.
Photo Credit:©GettyImages/fizkes
Tammy Darling is the author of 1,600 published articles and three books. She writes from her home in rural Pennsylvania.
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