anchor

  I wanted to share a little God wink that happened a couple of weeks ago but continually comes up and stays true for every moment no matter the situation. I was reading How did I get Here by Christine Caine and the underlying theme of the book was how to prevent the inevitable drift that happens in Christ by anchoring yourself in Him. Right from the jump I was in love with this analogy of anchoring in Christ and found it very fitting to my life circumstances right now. And even in general I feel like in this day and age it is so easy to drift from the truth with the constant intake of social media and news. 

    I was simultaneously reading A Different Kind of Love Story by Landra Young Hughes. It is her personal story of her eating disorder and the truth that she found in the word of God that has impacted her response to her negative body image and anxiety. Which in turn helped her find love and compassion for herself and overwhelming peace in him. So it was a different vibe than the Christine Caine book (which made it a good pairing). But in the last chapter of this book the message was how Christ should be your anchor! No where else in the entirety of this book was there any mention of an anchor (this is interesting). 

    So I have one book saying to anchor yourself IN Christ and the other saying that God IS the anchor. I felt prompted to look up the definition of the word anchor (warning I am about to provide you with a lot of definitions hehe). One of the definitions was “a metal device used to secure a boat or ship; a reliable support.” And some of the synonyms were: backbone and keystone. I don’t know about you but that sounds a lot like Jesus Christ to me!! We could even stop right there and that would be cool and powerful enough to wrap this story up but I dug further. 

    The Biblical definition/study of anchor. I know there are a lot of direct quotes but it's just too good not to use. It says, an anchor “serves as a powerful metaphor for HOPE and steadfastness, particularly in the face of life’s challenges and storms.” Not just any hope but hope anchored in Christ. And one more, In the ancient world an anchor was the symbol of hope.  Obviously hope has been a powerful topic in my life at the moment (hence the name of the blog!). What a reassuring word from the Lord that with hope in him, we therefore anchor ourselves to him no matter the storms and the influences of the world that cause us to drift. 

     I have been loving to look at the Amplified Version of the Bible for specific verses that peak my interest so I turned to Hebrews to read the verse discussing Anchors. 

“This hope [this confident assurance] we have as an anchor of the soul [it can not slip and it can not breakdown under whatever pressure bears upon it] – a safe and steadfast hope that enters within the veil [of the heavenly temple, that most Holy place in which the very presence of God dwells.]”

Hebrews 6:19 (AMP)

     After reading all of this and looking more into anchors I found so much peace in knowing that by anchoring into his truth that he provides hope and security in times of uncertainty. And that really hits home for me in the midst of the unknowns of ED treatment and recovery timeline, next steps regarding school and future career goals. It is so easy to drift into the overwhelming fear. 

    One of my favorite worship songs is Promises by Maverick City Music and during the time of reflecting on the anchors I hit shuffle on my music playlist and this song started playing. FYI I have over 70 songs on this playlist so I don’t shuffle through all of them every time. But as I was listening I was reminded how much I liked this song for multiple reasons. And then I heard it… “I put my faith in Jesus, My anchor to the ground.” Out of all the times I had listened and worshiped to this song the word anchor had never stuck out to me until this time. It is truly amazing how much you notice when the Lord opens your eyes and hears to see and hear his promises. 

    You may never want to read the word anchor again after reading this due to the volume I used it but for me it will always remind me of the security we have in Christ and I hope you find yourself doing that as well. I will leave you with one last verse. 

“For whatever was written in the past was written for instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the scriptures. Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another.”

Romans 15:4-5