The tempest is raging

Sometimes I feel like my life is just storming up. Like I'm in the middle of this huge storm, and I'm on this tiny little boat, and I'm completely helpless.

Every since coming home from my mission, I feel like it's been a huge series of storms. From being sick WAY more often than I ever have before, from figuring out my role in life right now, to coming to terms with no longer being on a mission, to just...handling life. So. Many. Storms. I'm sure pretty much everyone can relate.

My favorite hymn in the LDS hymnbook is "Master, the Tempest is Raging." Here are the words to the first verse:

Master the tempest is raging! 
The billows are tossing high!
The sky is o'reshadowed with blackness,
No shelter nor help is nigh.
Carest thou not that we perish?
How canst thou lie asleep
When each moment so madly is threat'ning
A grave in the angry deep?

(Chorus)
The winds and the waves shall obey thy will:
Peace be still;
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea
Or demons or men or whatever may be
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The master of ocean and earth and skies!
The all shall sweetly obey thy will,
Peace be still.

I was reminded of this song the week as I read Mark 4:37-41. Christ is with His apostles. They're still kinda new to the whole deal, having just been called to follow Christ, but they have witnessed many miracles by this time. They're on this little tiny boat, and the storm is threatening to sink or capsize them. And where to they find Christ, their master? Sleeping. They wake Him up, totally freaking out, and He's just like, "C'mon guys, chill out!" And turns to the raging storm and says, "Peace, be still," And it immediate calms. And then, of course, the apostles freak out all over again, because they just saw someone calm a crazy storm. Which is kinda silly, because they literally asked Him to do something about it. Christ's response is, "How is it that ye have no faith?"

Now, I don't believe Christ is saying they have NO faith. I mean, they had enough faith to ask Him to help out. They trusted Him. But, they lacked faith in the sense that they were surprised when He actually did it. They had seen Him perform miracles, many many times, just that day, actually! Yet, when it was a miracle for them, they were shocked that it actually happened - even though they knew He had the power.

Here is the next verse of the hymn:

Master with anguish of spirit
I bow in my grief today.
The depths of my sad heart are troubled,
Oh waken and save, I pray!
Torrents of sin and of anguish
Sweep o'er my sinking soul
And I perish! I perish! Dear Master
Oh hasten and take control!

I can't tell you how many times in the past almost 6 month since I've been home when this has been my prayer. Where I feel like my soul, my heart, my mind is sinking, and I just need Him to take control, because what I'm doing isn't doing the trick. When I do cry out to Him, He always responds, and He always calms the terrible tempests. I hope that as He has done so - and will continue to do - He hasn't ever had to say, "How is it that ye have no faith?"

If we have faith in Christ, we are never going to be surprised when He answers our call. We are going to expect Him to do something - not in the sense that we feel entitled, but that we know He will do something! Because we have that much trust in Him! And it doesn't mean He will take away whatever trial we are facing, but He will take away the storm. We can always trust in that.

Here is the last verse of the hymn:

Master, the terror is over,
The elements sweetly rest.
Earth's sun in the calm lake is mirrored
And heaven's within my breast.
Linger, O blessed Redeemer! 
Leave me alone no more
And with joy I shall make the blessed harbor
And rest on the blissful shore.

I wish I had words to express the feelings of my heart right now. Despite how frustrated I've been from some of the backsliding I've experienced from my mission, there is one thing I gained from my mission that I have not faltered in: trusting in the Lord and His grace. With all the many trials I've faced lately, and am currently facing, I trust in my Master. I know He will calm those storms. And, without fail, I am overcome by great love, comfort and peace. I don't ever have to be shocked or surprised at the miracles He sends me, because He ALWAYS sends them. And He always will. Not just for me, but He will for you, as well.

There is a tempest raging for you, just as there is for me. So...just cry out. He will calm them for you.