An Anchor For My Soul

By Tara Blake Hatton, Contributing Writer

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul,

firm and secure

Hebrews 6:19

At first glance, when I think of this verse I imagine myself being on the open seas, in a storm-tossed vessel being buffeted by the waves of life.  I attempt to stand firm on the ship’s deck, while storms rage wild and, in complete desperation, I hold tight to the rope that leads to the seafloor where Christ my lifeline is anchored.

In this image, although Christ is present He is far away, leagues below where I cannot go; I cannot get to Him.  He is with me but so very far away, at the other end of a rope quickly slipping through my fingers.

The greater the storms rage, the tighter my hold becomes, the faster the rope races through my hands, ripping and tearing apart my flesh.

Inevitably my flesh will fail.  When I no longer can carry on in my own strength my vessel will capsize and I will forever be lost at sea.

But I am not called to carry on in my own strength.  I have hope in the One who holds all the power I lack.  My God is firm and secure.  He will never allow His child to be forever lost at sea.

As my Heavenly Abba Father keeps showing me over and over, in so many ways, I have looked at this verse all wrong.  I have spent the majority of my life living within my own strength – capable, independent, completely self-sufficient, with the pride to match.

But, as my loving Father continues to reassure me, I am not responsible for holding my life together.  I do not have to hold on until my flesh tears away.  He’s got me.

He gently speaks His love directly into the heart of my soul:

Let go of the lifeline you have constructed.  You are making this so much harder than it is meant to be.  My child, open your hands, let Me heal your wounds.  Surrender to Me.

My Abba Father tenderly rebukes and corrects me:

You are not the helpless, out of control storm-tossed vessel you imagine.  You are my daughter, cherished and adored.  Rest easy, far below the stormy seas, just rest in My embrace.  Allow Me to set My anchor in the very depths of your soul.  

As the holding power of an anchor depends on the quality of the sea floor, I must examine the quality of my heart that my Savior offers to anchor Himself within.

Before Christ entered my life my heart was hardened, heavy within my chest, a solid stone.  It is nearly impossible to moor an anchor within stone because there is nothing for the anchor to take hold of.

But I thank God that I no longer have a heart of stone.

My Father says to me:  I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26)

Like sand resting gently on the ocean floor, a heart of flesh will give the anchor of Christ something to take hold of.

But first, I must make a choice.

Will I allow God, The Author and Finisher of my faith, to rewrite the script I have written?  

Will I slide out of the director’s chair and allow the Creator of the Universe to reassign the roles I have cast?  

Will I relinquish all rights to my life to the One who has written all the days of my life?

An anchor is established firm and secure by two flukes, the arrow like tips on each end.  These flukes allow the anchor to embed itself fully into the sand, to become one with the foundation of the watery depths instead of merely lying on the surface.

The two flukes of God’s anchor, the arrows that He sets deep within our hearts are His promise and His oath.

Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.  God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.  We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Hebrews 6:17-19

God’s anchor is sure.  It is steady.  It will hold fast.

His anchor offers hope and that hope contains all of the power we will ever need.

You can trust Him with your heart, your soul, your life.

Let go of the rope.

He’s got you.

---

 

Thank you to Tara Blake Hatton for contributing this article to the #RealHope series.

Tara writes for her blog, Story of My Heart 

---

This article is part of the #RealHope blog series and Hope Is Holiday Devotional Study.

For information regarding our current and future studies, visit our Bible study page.