This time last year we kayaked the sea caves of Lake Superior, then watched fireworks explode in bursts of color over the deep waters of the lake.
This time last year the future stretched before us full of promise and expectation of new adventures and years to share them.
This time last year Bob didn’t have cancer.
This year we traveled to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville for a CT scan on the 4th of July.
This year we watched fireworks on TV in the comfort of our home and struggled to stay awake.
This year the future is uncertain, full of questions and uncertainty and the necessity of not making plans.
This year Bob has cancer.
This time last year God was good, merciful, sovereign, victorious, gracious, faithful, wise, loving and kind.
This year God is good, merciful, sovereign, victorious, gracious, faithful, wise, loving and kind.
This time last year we had put our faith in God for our past, our present and our future. We had a history with Him in which we had witnessed amazing answers to prayers, seen Him provide in ways we couldn’t have anticipated, experienced more grace than we could comprehend, and were thankful for the life He had given us together.
This year we have put our faith in God for our past, our present and our future. We have a history with Him in which we have witnessed amazing answers to prayers, seen Him provide in ways we couldn’t have anticipated, experienced more grace than we can comprehend, and are thankful for the life He has given us together.
Much has changed, but underneath the storms of this life, we are anchored.
definition: anchor ---“secure firmly in position, provide with a firm basis or foundation”
Google “anchor” and you will find an amazing amount of information on the various types of anchors, how they act in different situations, which are appropriate for various vessels and for different types of sea beds.
I know nothing about boats and anchors, but just from a cursory reading of some of the information available, it is very obvious that if you are setting out to navigate any type of waterway in any type of floating vessel, you’d best be sure that you have an anchor with you and that you have chosen the right anchor before you need it!
The time to be sure that you have the correct anchor is not in the midst of the storm.
in
the midst
of the storm.
We have launched out into the deep, we have left behind the peaceful shores and the planned journey and our course is now set for the open sea, where the waves toss, the gales blow, and our course is uncertain. As we face the coming storms, one thing is sure:
It matters that we have the right anchor.
From across the years, the lines of an old song have been circling into my thoughts at random times…while smoothing the sheets, while stirring honey into the oatmeal, while sitting beside him in the cubicle as the chemo drips, while watching the sun break through the clouds on another gray, cloudy day….
“in times like these, you need a Savior, in times like these, you need an anchor; be very sure, be very sure, your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock.”
And we are sure.
“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the hidden sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.” (Hebrews 6:19-20a)
Hope is our anchor.
Hope that is not pie in the sky, wishful thinking hope…
not name it and claim it, trying to bend God to our will hope….
not sending in seed money for a miracle hope
or trying to be good enough or have enough faith to move God to hear us hope,
but Biblical hope that is firm and secure.
our ways are not God’s ways and
there is mystery in faith,
that life is hard and we are not exempt because we are believers,
but we are not in this alone, we do not struggle unaided, we are not abandoned or uncared for when the winds blow and the night is dark and the waves are high.
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul.
This isn’t our first storm.
In the years of our journey of faith, we have struggled, like Jacob, and been left limping.
We have wept, like Jeremiah, and been confused by the mystery of God’s ways.
We have run away, like Elijah, and sought relief under the juniper tree because the journey was too much for us.
We have survived the years the locusts have eaten and seen them restored, and we have also praised and sung and danced like David in the days when joy poured down like rain, and
all of this,
all of this,
all of this
means that we know our anchor holds.
Because our anchor, our hope, is firmly and securely in the person and the work of Jesus Christ---his life, his death, his resurrection. Our anchor is the character and nature of God the Father. Our anchor is the ever present indwelling and empowering and comforting of the Holy Spirit. Our anchor is God’s Word and all that it reveals to us of His intention toward us and His promises to us, and that it is all for our good and His glory.
Our anchor is sure.
Not because of anything we do, but because of everything that He has done for us. Not that we are faithful, but that He is faithful. Not that we should boast, but that He should be glorified through us.
I have heard it taught and preached many times: “everyone is either coming out of a storm or they are in the midst of a storm, or they are getting ready to enter a storm.”
That is the nature of this life we live on earth. And while our storms are not all the same, we all have need of the same anchor.
“Be very sure, be very sure, the anchor holds, and grips the solid rock. This rock is Jesus, yes He's the one.” My prayer for everyone who reads this blog is that you will choose the right anchor.
(A lovely treatment of the song , In Times Like These, by the Cadet Sisters here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMTbqvSOLRA )
