Will Our Anchor Hold Against the Storms of Life? (3)
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Straight to the Cross
COLUMN: Square One
Will Our Anchor Hold Against the Storms of Life? (3)
by Richard Mansel
Priscilla J. Owens wrote the lyrics for "We Have
an Anchor" in 1882./1 We can learn many lessons
from this hymn.
The fourth stanza reads:
"When our eyes behold through the gathering night
The city of gold, our harbor bright,
We shall anchor fast by the heavenly shore,
With the storms all past forevermore."/2
In Acts 27:39-44, Paul and his fellow travelers,
beaten and battered by the storms, saw land as the
daylight fell upon them. While they still had to
get to the land through the vicious waves, God
said that all would arrive safely if they did as
God commanded.
Our hope is in heaven as well as our hearts and
dreams. We anchor in the throne of God and the
splendor awaiting our entrance into heaven. We
remain tethered to him as the waves crash around
us. Faith is able to sustain us through the
spiritual wars. Christ is our strength and shield
(Ephesians 6:10-20). We should embrace him and be
appreciative of his comfort and strength.
Unlike physical wars, there will come a time when
every soldier in this spiritual war will die
(Hebrews 9:27). We will then face the consequences
of our works, whether good or ill (Revelation
20:11-15; Matthew 25:46).
Heaven will be a place of exhilarating beauty
where we will never again encounter death, tears,
pain, or misery because all these things will have
passed away (Revelation 21:1-7). All of the
storms will cease and unimaginable peace will
reign for longer than the human mind can conceive.
The conclusion to the hymn reads:
"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."/3
God never lets man down. He is perfectly faithful,
true, steadfast, and sure (Psalm 52:1; Psalm
89:8,33; Psalm 119:90; Lamentations 3:23).
God is an unmovable rock, firm until the end
(Isaiah 32:2; Isaiah 4:6). We can settle our
anchor in Christ and withstand all that man and
Satan can offer (Romans 8:35-39). He never changes
his will, his ways, or his goals for mankind. We
can anchor to him and relax, because we remain
connected to a cable that cannot be broken.
Christ will never leave his children (Hebrews
13:5). However, we can walk away from him. We can
unmoor our ship and set sail into the hungry
storm. The fleeting exhilaration of freedom turns
to stark terror as we realize the calamity we have
manufactured. However, as the waves consume us, it
will be too late to return to port (Hebrews 6:4-
6).
We must remain firm against all opposition. No
matter what storms come our way, we hold onto God.
Vincent Van Gogh said, "The fishermen know that
the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but
they have never found these dangers sufficient
reason for remaining ashore."/4 We know the
battles will come. We know they will be arduous
and stretch the limits of our faith. Yet, that is
not a sufficient reason to refuse to make the
journey. "No one would ever have crossed the ocean
if he could have gotten off the ship in a
storm."/5
We must decide where we are steering our lives.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox wrote, "Tis the set of the
sail that decides the goal, and not the storm of
life."/6 When we allow the storm to derail our
trip to heaven, we have decided the journey is not
worth the struggle (Matthew 13:45,46).
__________
1/ tinyurl.com/ytwhj32/ Ibid.
2/ Ibid.
3/ Ibid.
4/ tinyurl.com/227llo
5/ Ibid.
6/ Ibid.
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