No Water Can Swallow the Ship Where Lies the Master

I have always loved the song,  “Master the Tempest is Raging” 

Master! the tempest is raging!

The billows are tossing high! 

The sky is o'er-shadowed with blackness,  

No shelter or help is nigh. 

Carest thou not that [I] perish? 

How canst thou lie asleep? 

When each moment so madly is threatening  

A grave in the angry deep?

 As long as we are in mortality we can not avoid the storms of life. At those most perilous moments we do wonder why we are left to it's rage. Tho it may appear the Master is sleeping it is proof that He fears not – in His own due time He will calm the storm.

 

The winds and the waves shall obey thy will: 

Peace, be still. 

Whether the wrath of the storm tossed sea, 

Or demons, or man, or whatever it be! 

No water shall swallow the ship where lies, 

the Master of ocean and earth and skies!

They all shall sweetly obey thy will, 

Peace be still, peace be still. 

They all shall sweetly obey thy will, 

Peace, peace be still.

Master in 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! 

O hasten and take control!

 

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 blest harbor, 

And rest on the blissful shore.

No water can swallow the ship where lies, the Master of ocean and earth and skies!  

I love that line.

 I am on His ship. 

And as long as I remain on His ship, come what may, I am safe. 

The storms will rage – they must.  

Still waters takes a ship no where. I can get no where and learn nothing without the trials of life – without the other side of Joy. 

I feel very grateful for that today.

 “Remember, remember...it is upon the rock of our Redeemer...that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds...when all his hail and mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which you are built...” Helaman 5:12

“Whatever God requires is right, no matter what it is, although we may not see the reason thereof till long after the events transpire.” -Joseph Smith

No water can swallow the ship where lies, the Master of ocean and earth and skies!

Isaiah 51:12

“I, even I, am he that comforteth you.”

2 Nephi 4:26,34

“Why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow...and my strength slacken because of mine afflictions? Why should I give way...that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul...O Lord, I have trusted thee and will trust in thee forever.”

The Safety of the Boat

In Matthew 14:24-33 is the account of the disciples of Jesus, who were told by Jesus to get into their ship and go before him to the other side of the sea...while He went up to a mountain to pray...the disciples found themselves in the midst of a storm in the middle of the night, having rowed many hours and still not getting to the other side...when out on the water they see someone walking towards them, and they are frightened, thinking it's a spirit.  But it was Jesus.  Peter must have been so relieved it was Jesus that he asked if he could walk out to Him on the water.  

I often think of how this account of walking on water applies to my life. As soon as I step out of that boat to do an 'impossible' mortal action – walk on water in the midst of a dark night in a tumultuous storm – in other words, "Come unto Christ"...I have committed my life, my faith and my trust to Him. 

Jesus came to the disciples on the ship after they had toiled in the storm til the fourth watch...a very long time. They were afraid but He comforted them. 

Even without actually being able to see Jesus clearly, Peter extends faith to come to Jesus – on the water. Jesus offered the invitation that He always does, “Come.” 

Our walk through mortality is like walking on the water. 

Jesus tells us to “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.” and “Come.” Jesus gives us everything we need to walk that walk of mortality towards Him and Eternal Life. But mortal as we are, and this fallen world being as it is, we turn our heads at times and loose sight of the Master, however temporary, then we sink. 

But He who has promised to deliver us to the Father by showing us the Way, stands ever present to reach down and lift us up.

  
Peter cried, “Lord, save me.” And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him and said unto him, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”

The key appears to be that even a little faith will save me, so long as I get out of the safety of the boat and come to the Master. 

It requires courageous effort on my part, it requires doing sometimes hard things, it requires great faith, it requires complete trust in Him.   

It requires me to know that He will be there...even when I falter and sink.

Why ever do we doubt? 

Be not afraid. Only believe.