When time stands still, it seems as if God does, too.

The Bad News

October 2019. I worked three part-time jobs. My husband had a busy land-clearing business. Our two sons were in the middle of soccer season. We had finally saved enough money for the next phase of our house build and ordered the trusses for our new home. Ministries at church were exploding, and I was pulled in so many good directions.

Then, we got the call. Cancer. Possibly in the lymph nodes. Surgery. Everything started to spin. How could my thirty-nine-year-old husband have cancer? My kids needed a father. I needed a husband. What if the cancer had spread to other organs? What if we were too late?

Time stood still. My vision grew foggy. Breathe in. Breathe out. That’s all I could do. I couldn’t even cry.

We scheduled scans, appointments, and surgery. I juggled our busy schedule the best way I knew how, but I only went through the motions. Then, one morning, a dear friend and I sat in her car. Everything was still fresh and raw. She reached over, grabbed my hand, looked me in my eyes, and asked if I was okay. I. Was. Not. Okay. Tears filled my eyes as I gripped her hand.

“I’m so scared,” I responded weakly.

Scared. I was scared of the waves that were sure to come. Scared of the wind that would batter our hull and threadbare sail. Scared of the storm that roared all around. I had never been in a boat under these conditions and suddenly, here I was, whether I liked it or not. I thought of the disciples and what they must have felt that day with Jesus. Waves, wind, thunder, and lightning. Such distress. Such panic.

A great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat so that the boat was already swamped. He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke him and said to him, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?”

~Mark 4:37-38 CSB

The Good News

But Jesus simply got up from His nap and told the wind and waves to be still. At that moment, a great calm fell over the sea, and the disciples were in awe of this man who held such authority. As my friend reached over that day and held my hand, that same great calmness fell over me. Jesus, through the affection of a friend, reached into the storm in my soul and said, “Be still.”

He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

~Mark 4:39 CSB

Somehow, I knew it would be okay. I knew we would make it to the other side. And I knew Jesus would be in our boat no matter what might come our way.

It’s frightening to be in a boat in the middle of a storm, but that’s exactly how it feels when our routine life gets turned upside down–when time seems to stand still. But we know the one who has all authority over the wind and waves: Jesus. He is the one who shows up and brings the calm in the midst of a swirling sea. He is our hope when time stands still and the reason we can keep going each and every day.

What do you do when you feel as if you are in the boat on a raging sea all alone?

Dear Jesus, my world is spinning in so many directions. I feel like I’m in the middle of a terrible storm, all alone. Remind me I’m not by myself. You are in the boat with me and will always be there to calm the raging seas in my life. Amen

Genre: Non-fiction

Copyright 2024: When Time Stands Still: Christy Bass Adams: All Rights Reserved