We Have an Anchor

Praise the Lord; praise God our savior!
….For each day he carries us in his arms. Psalm 68:19 NLT

John 12:44-50 (<<click here to read the passage)

Reading through today’s text a single word jumped out at me from the Amplified Bible. In verse 46 Jesus says,

I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes and trusts in Me [as Savior—all those who anchor their hope in Me and rely on the truth of My message] will not continue to live in darkness. John 12:46 AMP

The word that grabbed my attention was…anchor. And as I am oft want to do, my mind flashed to hymns. The first to come to mind was an old one we sang when I was growing up, I’ve Anchored in Jesus (with words and music written by Lewis E. Jones in1901). But eventually, I thought of We Have an Anchor (words by Priscilla J. Owens and music by William J. Kirkpatrick, 1882).

But before we go down that route, let’s examine a bit of application here.

I am sure that life for you, as well as I, can get quite stormy on a fairly regular basis. Struggles at work, in our homes, and in our churches, too, can leave us with the feeling that we are adrift. The winds and the waves work us over with regularity…and we cannot escape. No matter where we turn, though there may be times of peace, inevitably storms will return, and the peace will be shattered. When those times come many times all we can do is to hold on for dear life, praying that the darkness of the storm will break before we do.

But how often do we forget that we do have an anchor! If we anchor our hope in Jesus and rely on the truth of His message, we can bear up under the darkness of those storms knowing that the Light of the world is right there for us!

That is most assuredly the case, but the hymn asks these questions of us:

Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift, or firm remain?

In turn, the refrain gives us the answer of affirmation!

We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love.

A passage from the New Testament book of Hebrews ties in perfectly here, as well.

God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise [that is God’s promise to Abraham] could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. Hebrews 6:17-19a NLT [emphasis mine]

No matter what life throughs at us we can know that when it comes to our life.

It is safely moored, ’twill the storm withstand,
For ’tis well secured by the Savior’s hand;
Though the tempest rave and the wild winds blow,
Not an angry wave shall our bark o’erflow.

Lord Jesus, thank You for the security and peace found only in You. May we diligently lay hold of You our Savior in all the many storms of life! Amen.

Aug 24^th, 2021, Tues, 7:17 pm

(Here’s a link to listen to We Have an Anchor if you would like.)