Anchored In Hope

As a child we spent a lot of time on Masonboro Island. We were walking back from the ocean to the boat when we saw it crossing the inlet to the south end of Wrightsville Beach. Dad jumped in and began swimming across the inlet, in that strong current, and pulled the boat back to us. The anchor had not held in that strong current. An anchor provides strength and support, keeping the ship from drifting but an anchor does nothing for a boat unless it is tied with a rope. I have seen someone throw the anchor over and realize that the end was not tied to the boat and they lost the anchor and the rope. Like that rope, our faith needs to be firmly attached to the anchor of hope.

Hope is not an emotion, it is so much more! Hope is the confident expectation of what God has promised and its strength is in His faithfulness. Hope anchors our soul because we know we are being held tight. We know God has promised His faithfulness and He will not let us go! Hebrews 6: 19, "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,..." Hope is what can move us through our struggles and hurts and into peace and freedom. Isaiah 43: 2, " When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you."

We will have stormynights where we feel like we are being dashed against the rocks and we are praying for daylight. Acts 27: 29, "Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight." God has equipped us with hope which means we can be confident based on His promises. He wants us to use our faith as our rope to hold on to the best Anchor there is. We will not be without struggles but when we have them our faith will jump overboard into our mess and find that rock and keep us anchored til the storm passes. Thanks be to God!