In 5th grade, I prepared an encyclopedia report with a friend about the value of a ship’s anchor. I remember the assignment because I tried to draw this monstrous piece of metal with its hooks contending with the rocks.
A new season is here. And if you’re like me, we have disquieting questions concerning what this season might hold. All we have to do is turn on the news and feel a surge of unsettledness:
- What about the economy?
- Will Isis target my community?
- Are my children going to be ok?
And perhaps others grapple over these issues:
- How am I going to pay the rent?
- How will I ever get over the heartbreak of this relationship?
- What do I tell the children when I don’t know how to answer their questions?
We all ponder, What kind of waters will my ship’s soul sail into this year in raising the children alone? What weather conditions loom on God’s nautical calendar concerning my job and the well-being of my children and future? What awaits my journey while this gale rages?
It’s easy to enter a new season of life focusing on how our ship will likely drift into uncertain territory. It can make us feel afraid. Yet, we can be a wise sailor and prepare beforehand an evacuation plan by accessing the audacious strength of our anchor. After all, it ALONE is the submerged secret of keeping our ship from wandering off to sea.
Hebrews 6:18-19 unveils our underwater anchor. Oh, how I love its provision, especially when I personalize its message:
And this is the assurance Pam has, that Jesus Christ, the anchor of her soul, is the One who guarantees safety to the other side. For He alone remains steadfast, assuring Pam that she will not breakdown under the strain. For indeed, Jesus, Her ANCHOR, has already entered God’s throne room as Pam’s forerunner, setting up a permanent post that she might gain free access into God’s presence, peace, and provision - a hiding place from the tempests.
I love it! Never has there been a more welcomed verse than this one for a single parent. It gives us the courage to move forward. The stamina to press on. The reassurance that we’re not alone in this enormous task of parenting. It brings tremendous comfort.
- Never will we find ourselves abandoned at sea without a navigator.
- Never will we find ourselves lying on the ocean floor of permanent defeat without a rescuer.
- Never will we find ourselves tossed ruthlessly from wave to wave without a helping hand.
- Never will we find ourselves in a hurricane without a captain for the voyage.
- Never will we find ourselves submerged beneath the seabed of worries without a way out.
- Never will we find ourselves on a faraway island without a rescue boat.
- Never will we find ourselves about to sink without a lifejacket.
- Never will we find ourselves forced to drink the seawater of unwanted emotions without the One who gives fresh life.
Friend, though we might feel shipwrecked at times or suffer from a bout of sea sickness or feel swallowed-up by momentary whitecaps, our anchor – JESUS CHRIST - holds.
YES, no matter what we face this upcoming season of life – OUR ANCHOR HOLDS!
