We were having dinner with friends a couple of weeks ago and we went around the table and shared what the ‘birthday boy’ meant to each of us. Someone shared that he was like the anchor to our team.

It took me back to a church service several months earlier where we had been singing about God’s love being the anchor during a storm and I asked God to reveal a bit more about that to me.

Unless you’re in a little row boat, the anchor is a substantial piece of equipment in a ship. The anchor is held by a massive chain and connected deep inside the ship, in its strongest place. The anchor is not added as an afterthought when the ship is designed. It’s integral to the design of the ship.

To help me understand the magnitude of this, I did a bit of a search on warship anchors. The USS Nimitz has an anchor that weighs 60,000 pounds. The chain that holds the anchor is made up of 12′ x 90’ lengths. Each length of chain weighs in at almost 20,000 pounds, and the total weight is over 239,000 pounds! That’s incredible…such strength and stability!

That massive piece of chain lays dormant in the bowels of the ship until the anchor needs to be let down. Through fair weather or foul, the anchor is there! The security of the way the chain is fixed to the ship is of paramount importance. When the anchor is required it will absolutely positively be securely attached to the ship. There is no chance of it coming loose and dropping to the ocean floor. The captain doesn’t wait until a storm has arrived until he sorts out the anchor and has the chains checked. It is always there, it is checked regularly and it is always waiting at the ready.

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

What a magnificent picture that is of the love of Jesus as the anchor in our lives. He’s always there, always securely attached to the core of our being everywhere we go! When the winds of adversity blow and we get caught in a storm, Jesus is there. His love never fails. No second thoughts about if He’s available to turn up for us. He is there – the anchor, our solid rock. 

2 Timothy 4:17 says, But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed! My prayer for us this week is that we more fully know and understand that deep and abiding love of Jesus, the anchor for our soul.

Written by: Ruth Bryan

Published on 10/20/17