What Is Holding You Secure?
Have you ever been near the sea? Stood by the docs and seen boats tied to shore, or just fixed in one spot by anchor out at sea? No matter what kind of waves come crashing down upon them, no matter the wind that whips the boat to and fro, the boat is tied down by its anchor, not going anywhere. An anchor securely holds a boat to a fixed object so the boat will not drift away. If a boat has an anchor, what do you have to keep you from drifting away? What holds you secure? Hebrews 6:19 says it plain and clear. We have this HOPE.
Hope is the thing that holds us, God’s church, to a fixed object: God Himself. Notice that word there… “fixed”. The Creator, the Great “I AM”, the One who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, is the only thing that will never change.
Think about what we view hope as in worldly terms. We use it as wishful thinking, saying “ I hope I’ll be able to make it on time” as you run out the door late... The hopes we put in earthly situations sets us up to be let down because the things of this earth are constantly changing. And as hard as we try, we can never control it because ironically, we are constantly changing too! Confess the things you place your hope in, that take the place of Christ. If that is placing your hope that life will get better when you have (x) amount of money in your savings. If that is placing your hope that life will get better when you have a solid car and a good house. If that is placing your hope in a relationship or a grade or a certain season you expect to come. Confess them now to God Himself who gives freedom. Confess to your brothers and sisters so they can hold you accountable and so you can walk in light with them. Do not place your hope in the changing things of this world.
Okay, so if earthly hope sets us up for failure, should we simply not hope at all? Without hope, the world and Satan himself transforms our souls to jaded mindsets, gives us a cynical mind by the world’s pushes and pulls, it’s constant change. It gives us a lens to see all the wrong things about the world.
But hold on… let’s think. Is that what God wants? No, He asks us to keep our minds on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy, things above, not on this earth. Yes, I know that is so much easier said than done. It is so easy to have a cynical mindset on what we can see and so hard to have a mind on things above, the unseen promises of God. So, how can we live in hope when it is so hard?
First by the help of the Holy Spirit. Confess, then ask Him for help in specific ways. Second, by clinging to the one thing that we can clearly see is unchanging. The one thing that can anchor you firm and secure. No other thing in your life can say the same as the Great I AM, that they are unchanging. Simply look at the Bible if you need an example of His consistency. Therefore, put your hope in Him and His promises, for He is a God of Hope!
“May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope!” Romans 5:13. If our Creator, of whom we are made in His image, is a God of hope, this must mean we bear that same part. We bear hope and not only that, but we know it can produce and fill us with a joy and peace through believing. Hope is then part of our nature, but that does not mean it will come easily when the world tries to give us a cynical mind. To produce even more hope, we must devote ourselves to pray continually. Closeness to our God of Hope through a real relationship with Him will produce hope in us. Those we hang around will rub off on us, so hanging around, talking and listening to Christ will produce in us His very hope.
Hope allows you to believe something better is coming. What is this better thing we must hope in? God made the “unchanging nature of His purpose clear to the heirs of what was promised” (Hebrews 6:17). He clearly shows us all throughout the Bible that we must hope in eternity with Him. Hope in the “holy, holy, holy” of the angels, the glorified bodies, the light of Christ radiating on our faces, the throne of God, the fullness of redemption through purification by fire, living with Christ in fullness forever! Doesn’t that just make you giddy?! A place where we get to experience truly living right next to the unchanging anchor we can see in part now. The only fixed object who makes my soul secure. One who made Himself known to us!
The hope we anchor to is God himself and our eternal state with Him that He promises. Not forgetting our mission of disciple-making, but not living by our circumstances, instead fixing our eyes on Him. How silly would that be to live and act according to our circumstances? It’s literally not what humanity was made for! No, we, the church, are filled with the hope of when we can live in fullness, not seeing a reflection, but face to face when we will go back to our origins of creation, walking in Eden with our Abba and Creator. Where no sin or flesh will block our closeness to the Father.
And don’t forget. This hope makes us rejoice! It does not put us to shame, it strengthens and makes us steady through God’s love (which gives hope) being poured out to us. Worship and praise Him in hope, do not fear any crazy looks or skeptical minds for the radical hope that you can life in Christ, but “hold fast to the confession of your hope without wavering, for He who Promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).
So when the winds and the waves come to push and pull you to and fro, that you might drift away, let hope be your anchor, securely fastened to the Great “I AM”, the Creator of all, our unchanging Lord.
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint” Isaiah 40:31Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.