It’s pretty costly to make a boat of any size. Whatever size, they all need a solid anchor to guard against drift that usually leads to shipwreck. Yes, the rudder and keel are vital, but those are both integral to the ship whereas the anchor’s role is to secure the vessel to something independently stronger, the mass of the sea bed. Lying off the many coasts around the world are sunken shipwrecks, many being preventable if there had but been a secure anchor in a storm. Whether we think of an aircraft carrier or a dinghy, if there is no anchor then the peril of rocks and ruin await. It doesn’t matter if the anchors are made of wood as in olden days or of metal, their role is to dig in to something stronger, bigger and more secure. So the question is this: when life’s tide pulls or the storms arise to batter your ship, does your anchor hold? Having a boat pulled on the shore doesn’t safeguard it from a high tide if it is not secure. The featured anchor may be rusty, but it’s never going to function among old lobster pots! Anchors should not be abandoned or become ornaments – if they do, loss is the inevitable outcome.
- ‘Have an anchor so that life doesn’t toss you around’ – Debby Ryan
- ‘We all have our convictions formed by different things, and mine are informed by my faith, they’re informed by the Word of God, and I found that to be an anchor for me, a compass and a guide for me. When people start bullying one another and calling each other names for those different convictions, then I think you get into problems’ – Kirk Cameron
Have you found something to be a sound anchor that hasn’t shifted over the years? Many of us would describe a special person in our lives as a rock but sadly they die and unfortunately you can’t anchor in memories alone. If your anchor is in your assets, notoriously they go up and down like the waves and can disappear quite as easily as flotsam or an elusive seal. Others put faith in physical fitness, health or personal abilities – but as we age, these usually diminish. What about families and philosophies? These too are changeable, prone to fallouts, disappointment and disillusionment in the light of experience. Even if there is some slack in your connection to the anchor, if you are properly anchored then it will still hold tight in the ebb and flow of life’s circumstances. Sometimes you meet a person who says they ‘feel lost’ or ‘drifting’ – this is because they have no secure anchor. Perhaps you’ve had that feeling too. In contrast, you may know some people who are anchored and have weathered many storms – but what is their reliable anchor?
- ‘We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf’ – Hebrews 6:19-20
- ‘Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God’ – Psalm 20:7
- ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?’ – Psalm 27:1
- ‘Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith’ – 1 Timothy 1:18-19
- ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever’ – Hebrews 13:8
It’s worth reflecting on the shape of an anchor – it is cross shaped. Jesus Christ provides us with the anchor of the cross which holds everyone who takes hold of him. There is no changeableness, variation or falsehood in Jesus – what he says, he does. Once anchored to him, nothing can separate you from him and he will bring you safely home as no one else can do. Be sure to check that your boat is secured – if not then search for the anchor. If you find the anchor has disconnected and been stored with the lobster pots, you will be in danger of drift with the next tide or shipwreck when the storm comes in.
Recalibration (connect4life.org.uk)
TAGS – connection, backsliding, separation, puzzled, discouraged, discouragement