Tag Archives: Anchor

Pastoral thoughts

Sailing Through Life – Part 6 – The Key to Stability

It stopped me in my tracks. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was. We were in port and for the first time I got a look at our anchor. Wow! It was huge! Like I said, I should have figured that, but then I hadn’t really thought about it. Even big ships need anchors – and they need big ones. (1)

That’s when it hit me. Rowboat anchors will not suffice. The cruise line could have used rowboat anchors – but the boat would not remain stable and would eventually drift away. Big ships need anchors – and they need big ones!

It also shouldn’t be surprising that God knows all this as well. The author of the letter to the Hebrews wrote:

“For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying: “I will certainly bless you, and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.”
Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.
Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 6:13-20 New Living Translation)

The young Hebrew Christians were facing difficult trials and heavy suffering. They were impacted financially, relationally, emotionally and physically. The temptation to go back on their conversion experience, to back off from their witnessing, to become a ‘quiet Christian’ was great. So the author reminds them they should and could remain stable. In essence he told them to take a look at their anchor – their hope in Jesus Christ. “Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.” How can we be sure? “It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us.” They were anchored to the one who sits on the throne in the presence of God. Paul put it this way: And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus…” (Ephesians 2:6)

What a valuable reminder! Stormy situations surround us. Loved ones are ill and we can’t seem to help them get better. The cost of medical care is draining finances. Family relationships are difficult and fragile. Job pressures are mounting. And consider the shouting voices, the shameless bullies, the evil-filled terrorists, the selfish politicians, the biased newscasters, the revenge seeking popularity. Think of the increasing pressures to keep one’s faith quiet, the hate-filled crowds that want to violate an individual’s freedom of religion by verbally – and sometimes physically – beating them into submission. Reflect on the pressure to let children and grandchildren be schooled each day by anti-faith and anti-traditional morality school boards and teachers. Just try to stand up for traditional marriage or for a ‘natural’ definition of maleness and femaleness. And on and on it goes.

Am I being ‘too political?’ It probably depends on who you talk to! I believe I’m being realistic. The storms of life are constant and we have those moments when we wonder if we can hold our ground, if we can stay in the port of our faith. That’s when we look at our anchor. “Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us.” The amazing thing is when we look at our anchor we don’t see an anchor like that pictured above. We see Jesus. He is our anchor of stability.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s a light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!

His Word shall not fail you—He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace. (2)


Intently look at the picture of Christ as you slowly repeat the Lord’s Prayer. Then gently close your eyes, or look at a wall, or into the sky. The Lord will appear and reappear to you. (3)

(1) Photo by Simon Abrams on Unsplash
(2) Helen H. Lemmel
(3) From Donald W. Bartow – © 1982 Life Enrichment Publishers

Pastoral thoughts

Canoeing 101

My wife  and I recently attended the 50th anniversary celebration of Cran-Hill Ranch. Begun as a ministry of the Reformed Churches in Michigan it has  transformed thousands of lives over the years. The ranch is important to us for a lot of reasons – the top reason being it is the place we met. We were on staff the very first summer it opened – 50 years ago. (Yes – we were really young then!) Planning for and celebrating the anniversary brought back many precious memories. One was of the time we spent an overnight there for a brief get away. We knew we couldn’t head for home without spending some time in a canoe. So we rented a canoe and paddled across and around the lake.

That’s when Barb threw out the challenge: “There must be something here for your Pikkup Notes” (the title of my weekly church blog). Of course my mind froze – it doesn’t get clever under pressure! Nothing registered. Besides, I just wanted to enjoy the beautiful day, outstanding weather, and the spectacular surroundings of the camp and lake. Why spoil it by heating up my mental cells? We went there, after all, to take a break from working and thinking – to relax.

But the fuse was lit. Barb knows me too well. She knew something would spark and begin to burn. And it did. At several points we just sat in the canoe, paddles at rest, trying to capture the quietness and peace. Each time we did so I – sitting in the back as the designated driver in charge of steering – had to resume paddling before we drifted too far into the lily pads or swamp area. Otherwise we ran the risk of getting stuck. And that’s when the spark lit the fire. As long as we paddled we controlled our direction and pace; we determined where we went. But with no rudder or anchor we were at the mercy of the current. With no rudder or anchor we would end up going with the flow, no matter where the flow would take us.

James actually said the same thing centuries ago. When it comes to determining direction in life, he said “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” (James 1:3-5 New Living Translation) To go in the right direction, pray – but pray anchored in trust. Without trust, we’re like a tossing wave – or a rudderless, anchor-less canoe. With no rudder or anchor we are at the mercy of the current.

Maintaining the right direction, steering the straight course through life, has become very difficult. Our culture and our media hit us with gale force winds, trying to steer us towards their ideals, goals, and philosophies for life. And with no rudder or anchor, we’re at the mercy of the current. So it is important, critically important, that we have a strong rudder and heavy anchor – a rudder that will help us steer the right course and an anchor that will enable us to stand firm against those opposing gale force winds.

 

 

 

The Good is that Jesus Christ is our anchor and rudder, for He is anchored to God Himself. “This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 6:19-20 NLT) Or as The Message puts it, “We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.”

When it’s hard to stay headed in the right direction, the way grows confusing, the road ahead is dark, the winds of the world blow with hurricane force remember: With no rudder or anchor we are at the mercy of the current. But Jesus knows the way. Stay anchored to Him. Let Him steer your life. Follow Him. He is, after all, “The way, the truth, and the life.” Happy canoeing!