Hopefully Anchored

Hebrews 6:18b-20a

“…we who have taken refuge [are] strongly encouraged to seize the hope set before us. 19We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain, 20where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has entered…”

Reflection:

Every day I live, I become more and more convinced that the opposite of fear is hope.

The profound passage above is one of those that many people never realized was in the Bible. The beautiful image of hope as “a steadfast anchor of the soul” is one that takes some time to ponder…

Sometimes, the faithful thing to do is to pull up anchor and let God lead you like a river’s current.

Sometimes, even the attempt to control the current is an exercise in arrogance and futility at the same time.

But sometimes, the waters churn and crash so much that the only thing to do is to drop anchor and pray.

My family experienced one of those times recently. On Wednesday, word came that my uncle, in desperation and despair, ended his own life. The pain this has caused in my family is a bit like the crashing waves…

I share this, not to “air our dirty laundry” or tell something that shouldn’t be told, but because I believe that as a pastor, my most profound “job” is to point others to the hope that sustains us in this life.

Whether you have lost a family member to suicide, struggled with suicidal thoughts yourself, or simply know the pain of enduring challenges and changes you hadn’t wished for, I have no doubt that every single person reading this message (and the one writing it) have need to drop anchor occasionally; to buffet ourselves against the onslaught of trouble.

But remember, the opposite of fear is…HOPE.

Hope that Jesus’ death really did destroy the ultimate power of death…

Hope that the struggles we endure here never have the final say…

Hope that the curtain of the temples HAS been torn in two and we all have access to God’s love…

Hope that my uncle, though he suffered terribly in this life, now rests in the arms of love…

Hope that nothing, truly nothing, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

That’s the hope that anchors me in this time…and the hope that will anchor you when the waters churn and crash.

Thanks be to God for hope, for Christ, for a love that is more powerful than even the most difficult death.

Prayer: Gracious God, we pray that you ground us, anchor us, in your unending love for us. Help us to see past our struggles to see every tomorrow resting in your hands…Amen.