Dropping Anchors For Safety
While on his way to Rome, the apostle Paul found himself in a difficult and dangerous situation. A great storm on the waters had caused nerves to be frayed and grown men to fear. Finally, as the men drew near rocks lying beneath the water, four anchors were dropped from the stern of the boat to keep them from running aground (Acts 27:29). Over 19 centuries later, we can learn a lot from this event. Each day, we sail the storms of life in our own proverbial vessel, sometimes fearful of what lies ahead of us. As these men dropped four anchors to secure themselves, we too can rely on God-given anchors which enable us to be calm, secure, and safe.
God has given us an incredible anchor in His word. The Bible is a wonderful book that is filled with captivating accounts of men and women in tough spots who never lost sight of God and relied on Him for their strength. Reading the Bible regularly, thinking about its teachings, and trying to model ourselves after its Godly characters will always ground us. When Paul wrote to the Thessalonian Christians, he instructed them to use the words of God to comfort each other (I Thessalonians 4:18). Indeed, reading the scriptures is one of the surest ways to grow more confident and comforted amidst life's storms.
An additional anchor is the home, the oldest institution in creation wherein God brought a man and woman together to create what we know as the family (Genesis 2:24). Indeed, husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, and children are all participants in the great God-ordained organization that is so key to a society's success.
Each of us can likely recall times when we had a tough day at school and looked forward to getting home to our dad or mom, knowing that they'd be something we could count on. God designed the family to be that source of strength in difficult times!
God has also granted us the great anchor of prayer. When Peter instructed us to cast "all" our cares on God, he meant it! (I Peter 5:7). There is no greater source of strength on which we might depend than the ability to communicate one-on-one with the Creator of all things. Speaking to God is a great privilege and it's one we SHOULD take advantage of often. While traveling through a difficult world that is filled with innumerable uncertainties, it's nice knowing that we can be certain of our ability to pray and that our prayerfulness is incredibly powerful.
Finally, God has given us an anchor in the form of the church. The Lord's church was built by Jesus and paid for with His blood (Matthew 16:18; Acts 20:28). Paul describes the church as the "pillar and ground" of God's truth (I Timothy 3:15). The Lord's church is therefore an incredibly vital organization. It is filled with saints who are not perfect, but have been redeemed and understand the importance of supporting each other as we travel our own individually challenging paths.
Thanks be to God that, even in the midst of all of life's storms, He has lovingly provided us His anchors to ground and secure ourselves!