My family and I recently ventured out on a boat at a nearby lake that was nestled in between the rocky desert mountains of Arizona. It was absolutely beautiful!

As I watched various speedboats, motorboats, and jet skiers whiz by us creating many rough and choppy waves…my eye caught a single anchored boat nearby.

The rough and choppy waves splashed up against this little boat causing it to shake and bounce, yet it didn’t move from its place. It remained steady and stable in the midst of all the activity around it because it was anchored.

As my eyes remained fixed on this boat, I began to ponder the ability of this anchor to keep the boat stable and steadfast.

An anchor is a metal device attached to a ship or boat by a cable or rope and cast overboard to hold it firmly in a particular place by means of hook-like arms that dig into the bottom of a lake or sea.

The purpose of an anchor is to stabilize a boat from drifting away …especially in heavy stormy weather.

The idea of this anchor prompted me to consider how we too need an anchor in our lives. We too need an anchor to keep us stable and steadfast…not only in the heavy storms of life…but also in the day to day of our lives.

Are you anchored? What anchors you each day?

In the Bible, the book of Hebrews talks about an anchor…an anchor that will keep us firm and secure…an anchor for our souls.

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Hebrews 6:19 NIV

FYI…the “soul” can be described as the inner life of a person that represents a person’s thoughts, will, and emotions.

 

In order for an anchor to firmly grip the bottom of the waterbed, it must have good anchorage. In other words…the anchor needs to be embedded among rocks in order to hold fast to the bottom without slipping or dragging.

Just as a boat’s anchor needs to be embedded among the rocks…so too must our anchor be embedded among the rocks…really just one rock…the only rock…the rock of Jesus Christ.

And this anchor for our souls? It is hope…hope in Jesus Christ.

Is your soul anchored in the hope of Jesus Christ today? Are your thoughts…will…and emotions anchored in Christ on a daily basis?

As Christians, we can so easily allow our focus to drift away…We can so easily allow our thoughts…desires…and emotions to drift away from our anchor of hope…away from Jesus Christ.

Our Thoughts

Oh how easy it is for our minds to drift away!

I am sure we have all experienced days where our thoughts begin drifting away…drifting away from what is sound and reasonable…drifting away from what we know is true…drifting away from Jesus and His Word…And drifting to negative, unproductive thoughts…drifting to worry, fear, insecurity, discouragement…drifting to even sin.

I know you know what I am talking about!

It’s like your child comes home with an unusual skin rash…and you begin to google its description (by the way…never usually recommended) and after reading all the signs and symptoms from comments that other moms have posted (again not recommended) you have concluded that your child has an incurable disease!

Or you just lost your job and even before you have begun actually looking for another job you have concluded that you won’t be able to find a new job quick enough and your thoughts drift away to the inability to pay your bills and rent and you have concluded that you will be evicted!

This list of unrealistic…and sometimes ridiculous…scenarios is endless…isn’t it?!

Our thoughts must be anchored in Christ.

You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character], Because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation]. Isaiah 26:3AMP

Our Will

“Will” is defined as “a strong desire or determination to do something; a person’s choice or desire in a particular situation.”

Oftentimes we have hopes and desires to do something in our lives, but our will is just that…Our will!

We pursue our hopes and desires without praying about them and aligning them with Christ and His desires…without knowing if it’s even God’s will for us or our lives.

Our human nature is to do what we want to do…even if it’s a good thing…and we don’t even think about consulting our Creator.

God created each of us with a plan and a purpose in this life…So how can we not consult our Creator?

We may not want God’s will because we want our will more…and consequently we can find ourselves drifting away from God’s plan and purpose for our lives.

Our will…our desires…must be anchored in Christ.

We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps. Proverbs 16:9 NLT

I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. Jeremiah 29:11 MSG

Emotions

And how about those emotions? There are few women who don’t show much emotion but most women struggle with controlling their emotions. I know I do sometimes!

Emotions are not necessarily bad. God created us as women to have emotions but we must learn to control them. If we don’t take hold of them, we will find ourselves allowing our emotions to control our actions and reactions…and even control our day!

And for you moms out there with kids…you know how quickly your patience is tested by your children which may eventually lead to overwhelming frustrations…causing actions and reactions that may not be pleasing to God.

Our emotions must be anchored in Christ.

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23 NIV

The heart is deceitful above all things. And it is extremely sick; Who can understand it fully and know its secret motives? Jeremiah 17:9 AMP

So how can we daily anchor our thoughts, will, and emotions in Christ?

Now remember, there is a cable or rope (in nautical terms this is called a “rode”) that attaches the anchor to the boat. This rope is very important because an anchor is not effective unless it has a strong cable or rope.

When the anchor is dropped over the edge of the boat, the anchor is no longer seen. It is trust in the strength of this rope that gives you assurance that the anchor will keep the boat firm and steadfast.

And this rope for us as Christians is faith!

Faith connects us to our anchor hope!

Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 BSB

What is so amazing is another interesting aspect of the anchor called the scope. For all you mathematicians out here… this one’s for you!

The scope is “the ratio of the length of rode(rope) to water depth. Anchoring with sufficient scope brings the direction of strain close to parallel with the seabed.”

In other words…this means that you want a tight scope. It isn’t good to have a lot of slack in the rope. The greater the slack in the rope, the greater the boat’s ability to move and drift  and become less stable.

Again, we are talking about how we can be anchored in Christ.

Our faith becomes stronger the closer we stay to our hope…the closer we stay to Christ. We don’t want any slack in our faith!

But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God. Hebrews 7:19 NLT

Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings… Hebrews 10:22 NIV

In order for us to be anchored in Christ, we must stay close to Him. Keeping close to Him through prayer and daily Bible reading/study is essential in keeping our thoughts, will, and emotions anchored on a daily basis…as well as in the tough stormy seasons of life.

If we are not anchored in Christ, we will drift…drift away from our very source of stability, security, and steadfastness.

Stay anchored in Christ today! He is the ONLY hope that is immoveable!

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Hebrews 6:19 NIV

Reflection Points:

1. Are you anchored?
2. What anchors you each day?
3. Is your soul anchored in the hope of Jesus today?
4. Are your thoughts…will…and emotions anchored in Christ on a daily basis?
5. How can we daily anchor our thoughts, will, and emotions in Christ?
6. Why is scope so important?

Actions Points:

1. We cannot rely on people or things to be anchored in our lives. People and things will come and go. We must be anchored firmly on the rock of Jesus Christ. When we are anchored, we will experience stability and steadfastness…not just in the heavy storms of life…but also in the day to day of our lives. The anchor for our souls is hope in Jesus Christ.
2. Our thoughts, will, and emotions must be anchored in Christ. If we are not anchored, we can so easily allow our focus to drift away. We can so easily allow our thoughts…desires…and feelings to drift away from our anchor of hope…away from Jesus Christ.
3. We can anchor our thoughts, will, and emotions on a daily basis through our faith. Because it is our faith that connects us to our hope! It is our faith that connects us to Jesus!
4. Scope is so important because the greater the slack in the rope, the greater the boat’s ability to move and become less stable. Our faith becomes stronger the closer we stay to our hope…the closer we stay to Christ. Keeping close to Him through prayer and daily Bible reading/study will strengthen our faith and keep us stable and secure no matter what comes our way!