Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Hope—an Anchor for the Soul!

We have this hope as an anchor for the
soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner
sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus,
who went before us, has entered on our behalf…
                                        Hebrews 6:19-20
 
     An anchor holds when the wind howls and the seas splash angrily over the bow of a ship. An anchor holds when the sails tatter from gale force winds. An anchor holds when the swirling current tugs and tugs to draw the ship away from its mooring.

     In May of last year, while the Shell Oil Company was conducting an oil and gas survey, their equipment recorded an “unknown sonar contact”.  Upon further research, and after calling in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a two hundred year old shipwreck was found lying on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico! Much of the wood used to build the ship had long since decayed, but the anchor lay like a tombstone marking the place where the ship went down.

     Our hope in Christ is like that anchor that never gives up the ship. It holds until the last moment and then continues to hang on. Our hope in Christ is constant and firm. Life may hit us with one blow after another. It may feel as if we are going down never to rise again. Friends may desert us, family may forsake us and we may feel totally alone, but our anchor of hope in Jesus Christ will never let us go.

     Steadfast and sure, firm and secure, powerful and strong; hope in Christ remains the anchor of our Christian faith and our life. Our earthly possessions may go down with the ship, but our security in Christ cannot be shaken. Our hope, confidence, trust, expectation and belief in Christ alone anchors our soul for eternity.

     The winds of discouragement may blow, the angry seas of financial crisis may tatter us, the word “terminal” may flood our hearts with fear but our anchor holds. Our hope is found in Christ alone. I leave you with a portion of a beautiful song entitled “In Christ Alone” written by Donald Koch and Andrew Craig:

     In Christ alone
     I place my trust
     And find my glory
     In the power of the cross
     In every victory
     Let it be said of me
     My source of strength
     My source of hope
     Is Christ alone

Hope in Christ Alone, the only anchor for our soul.
 
©JP 2013

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