Anchor of the soul

“Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul,both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;” (Hebrews 6:17-19)

Hello, my friend…

Today I want to talk to you about anchors. Now, I was never in the Navy or have I ever been a big fan of boats – any of my friends will tell you I have a thing about being out on the water. Even so, anchors are very important to seamen and sea-faring vessels and the Bible mentions them a few times throughout. So here we go.

Anchors. What purpose do they serve? Well, the simple answer is they keep a boat stable and in place during both calm seas and stormy. The bigger the boat (or ship), the larger the anchor. As a child growing up, I always thought anchors accomplished this feat by attaching themselves to the floor of the body of water; however, I have since discovered differently. By their sheer size and weight they serve by attaching themselves (if I can use that term) to deeper water. For example, a ship caught in a storm at sea couldn’t possible have enough cable attached to the anchor to reach the sea floor. Instead, the anchor rests itself in deep water, heavier water pressure, where the waves and winds cannot affect it. From that position, it then stabilizes the boat (or ship). Odd, yet true.

A boat (or ship) will not cruise the seas with the anchor dragging behind it – that would slow the ship down at best and seriously harm any progress the captain would attempt to make. The anchor only comes into play when the desire is to hold position (as in a fishing expedition, a search mission, or in the case of a storm). Otherwise, it stays safely stowed in the confines of the vessel. The anchor serves to stabilize and, well, anchor the boat in place and not allow it to be swept off-course or capsized in the storm.

I don’t know about you, but I have had some pretty serious storms in my life – I think we all have. Those storms came to us as financial pressures, health scares, family issues, job changes, or any other host of occurrances in our lives. If you would, I ask you to go back and consider just one of those storms in your own life. How did you handle it? Did you allow it to totally change your course? Did you allow the storm to take you adrift from your original plan? Did that storm totally swamp the ship of your life and sink you? Or did you turn to something or someone to help you through that period of your life? Many turn to family, friends, church brothers and sisters, or someone else. Some turn to crime as a way of lashing out at life and attempting to regain control. Others turn to vices such as alcohol, drugs, sex, money-grabbing, or something else to distract themselves from the pain of the moment. A few actually turned to Jesus and trusted in His care for them. To what or whom did you turn? What got you through the storm to the other side? Obviously you made it – you are here reading (or hearing) this message?

The writer to the Hebrews has given us much to think about in our scripture today. First, God wants to assure us that those promises He has made to us SHALL come to pass – because He confirmed it with an oath. We have to establish in our individual hearts: Does God speak truth or does He lie? Do we even hear Him when He speaks to us? Does He even know you exist? As it is written in another place, first we have to acknowledge that God IS, and that He Is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him. Do you believe those two statements? If not, then we are doomed to be tossed about by every change of life situations; however, if we do believe those two statements of fact, then we can believe Him when He makes a promise to us – an oath.

All of God’s promises are yes and amen in Christ. Jesus Christ came to perfectly fulfill the Law of God, to bring to pass the way by which we can enter into God’s Presence and find grace and peace in our times of trouble. Just as importantly, Christ came to fulfill the righteous demands of the Law for a sacrifice that would completely satisfy God’s wrath. Jesus became that sacrifice for us. Then, after He was raised again from the dead, He ascended back into heaven where He sits as our Advocate with the Father. He is our Representative in the courts of heaven – speaking on our behalf, adjudicating our case before the Father (Who is the Judge). This is our hope. This is our confidence. We have just such an anchor established in the heavens – unshakeable, immoveable, unswerving, unyielding. The victory He won for us on Calvary is both complete and eternal. There is no appelate court for the findings of heaven! When God declares sentence, that sentence is both just and final.

My question to you, my friend, is simply this: to what do you attach your life? What brings you comfort in times of dire need? What (or who) is your supply? Upon what do you pin your eternal destiny? Our problem a lot of times is, we think we will live forever. The typical lifespan in the Western world is approximately 72 years old for men and a little more for women. If you are forty, you are thinking you have another thirty-plus years before you have to worry about dying. Plenty of time. But read any newspaper or Facebook page very long and you will find 20-somethings dropping dead after a basketball practice, or thirty year olds dying in motorcycle accidents, babies born with chemical addictions and succombing to them before they even leave the hospital! I am typically not one to use fear to bring someone into the Kingdom; but, I am not afraid to point out that we are not promised tomorrow. My question stands: to whom or to what do you attach your life? Eternity will be determined for you, my friend, based upon your simple answer to that question.

Jesus told His disciples that “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father except by me.” There are NOT many ways to heaven. There are a multitude of ways to die, but there is only one Gate through which you may enter heaven. The other ones point in a different direction – quite different than heaven’s splendor. Plus, as a Christian, we have the added benefit of life and that more abundantly here on earth in the meantime. I set before you life and death: choose life.

Be blessed.