“We have this hope as an anchor for our lives, safe and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.”

Hebrews 6:19

An effective anchor is unseen. It goes down into the deep to grab hold of the secure ground in order to hold the boat steady. If the anchor is seen, it is likely not doing its job and the boat is bouncing around and drifting. An effective anchor is also securely attached to the boat. If the anchor is not attached securely, it will come loose again causing the boat to bounce around and drift. Bouncing and drifting in uncertain waters can be very dangerous, so it is imperative for that anchor to work.

Life is filled with choppy, dangerous waters. I remember with great detail a few years ago when our lives seemed to be in complete chaos. We didn’t know how we were going to pay for our daughter’s last year of college as my husband was without work. We didn’t know how we were going to manage rebuilding after a major flood destroyed our home and took our cars. We didn’t know where we were going to live if/when we managed to rebuild. We didn’t know how we were going to continue to help our son who was in seminary. Basically, we just didn’t know a whole lot except that we were in turbulent waters, and life was hard. My husband told me, “This is when our faith is lived out. Because of Christ, we have hope.” We had to make sure our lives were securely attached to the Anchor we could not physically see but that we professed to believe in. We had hope because of our Anchor. As we held on, all of the answers to those questions we didn’t have answers to were answered in ways we could not even have imagined. That Anchor held us steady through one of the most difficult and tumultuous times of our lives.

It’s easy to have faith in the good times, but what about those hard times? Do we have that Anchor that holds us? We cannot physically see God, but we can trust in His secure holding of us when we are firmly attached. That Anchor is what gives us hope when things seem hopeless. When those choppy, dangerous waters are present, and they will come, stay securely holding onto the Anchor that you may not physically see. In that Anchor lies our hope for life no matter what turbulence we face.