We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.
Hebrews 6:19a (NIV)
I bought a journal the other day that says “Hope is an Anchor” across the front (I know, I know. I’m a cheesy Christian girl. Don’t judge me).
So I began to think about the fact that anchors are big.
REALLY BIG.
Seeing as I have little to no knowledge of anchors, it seemed wise to do a bit of research on them. So I did what any other savvy, millennial blogger would do.
I googled them.
Yes. I actually googled them (Now you can judge me).
According to an article published by USA Today, a very large anchor was discovered four years ago by a team of archaeologists off the coast of North Carolina.
But this was not just any old anchor (Well, it was old, anyway).
This was Blackbeard’s anchor.
That’s right, that scary pirate guy who lit his own facial hair on fire to terrify anyone who dared stand in his way.
So, this anchor was a pretty big deal.
Thought to be one of the anchors used by Blackbeard on his ship, the “Queen Anne’s Revenge,” the anchor weighs in at a whopping 3,000 pounds, is more than 11 feet long, and has “arms” that are more than 7 feet across.
That thing is bigger than Goliath, people.
So now as I think again about hope being an anchor, I realize that hope is not wimpy wishful thinking.
Hope is grounded in God’s reality. It is solid. It is immovable. It is unseen yet it is even more sure than any 3,000 pound man-made anchor.
WOW.
What a completely humbling thought.
Considering the fact that I am no theologian, I was curious to see what my dear friend Matthew Henry had to say about Hebrews 6:19 (Note: Henry has been dead for many years and I never actually had the pleasure of making his acquaintance. But nevertheless, I still consider him a friend. We literary types tend to do that).
We are in this world as a ship at sea, liable to be tossed up and down, and in danger of being cast away. Our souls are the vessels. The comforts, expectations, graces, and happiness of our souls are the precious cargo with which these vessels are loaded. Heaven is the harbour to which we sail. The temptations, persecutions, and afflictions that we encounter, are the winds and waves that threaten our shipwreck. We have need of an anchor to keep us sure and steady, or we are in continual danger. Gospel hope is our anchor; as in our day of battle it is our helmet, so in our stormy passage through this world it is our anchor. It is sure and steadfast, or else it could not keep us so. First, it is sure in its own nature; for it is the special work of God in the soul. It is a good hope through grace; it is not a flattering hope made out of the spider’s web, but it is a true work of God, it is a strong and substantial thing. Secondly, it is steadfast as to its object; it is an anchor that has taken good hold, it enters that which is within the veil; it is an anchor that is cast upon the rock, the Rock of ages. It does not seek to fasten in the sands, but enters within the veil, and fixes there upon Christ; he is the object, he is the anchor—hold of the believer’s hope. As an unseen glory within the veil is what the believer is hoping for, so an unseen Jesus within the veil is the foundation of his hope; the free grace of God, the merits and mediation of Christ, and the powerful influences of his Spirit, are the grounds of his hope, and so it is a steadfast hope. Jesus Christ is the object and ground of the believer’s hope, and so it is a steadfast hope.
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
I am thankful for my Savior who continues to blow my mind with His truth. He is my hope. He is my anchor. And He will never be moved.
Before I sign off, I must leave you with one last quote from a familiar, time-worn hymn.
Just as I am//Though toss’d about//With many a conflict//Many a doubt//Fightings and fears within, without//O Lamb of God, I come!
-“Just As I Am,” Charlotte Elliott
Come to Him. You have 3,000 pounds of hope at your disposal.
seafaring soul blog 