The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself. It reveals who God is, and it also serves to reveal who we are. The Bible teaches us how to believe and live in such a way that pleases God. It’s a wealth of wisdom, a treasury of knowledge, an abundance of instruction, and a trustworthy source of truth.
Sometimes we forget that. We listen to a sermon, and we read daily from it, while these things are centered on God’s Word, sometimes we can get so familiar with that word, or at least portions of it, that we neglect to appreciate what God is saying. Sometimes we read something and stop and reflect, and we look again not just because of what is being said, but the manner in which it’s being said. For example Hebrews 6:19 says,
“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”
What a huge promise He makes us there. We see this promise being made in Genesis, to Abraham which we inherited by choosing to believe in the same God Abraham did. God not only promised this, but went the extra step and guaranteed it with an oath. This verse tells us that all the descendants of Abraham would be blessed. Not with anything trivial and fleeting as health, wealth, and prosperity, but instead we are blessed with every spiritual blessing that Jesus has. There are three reasons we need to anchor our souls:
- Hardships will come
Lp,. -We should not only have to anchor our souls, but it is also what keeps us stable. We need this more than ever because:
An anchor to our souls it was written to a group of struggling believers who were undergoing persecution. Hope is an anchor that tells us to keep going, continue, and endure. To persevere. Do not give up the faith even through hardship is a present reality.
Hardship is a present reality just by living in a broken world, but there will be seasons in our lives when hardship becomes acute. We need the urgency to keep going. Along with that urgency comes the reminder that we are a firm anchor for our souls, in times of hardship.
- Our hearts tend to drift
No matter how long we’ve been walking with Jesus, we all have tendency to drift. If you left a ship in the middle of a body of water, no matter how calm or serene the water might seem on the surface, it will inevitably start to drift. That’s because even though the surface appeared calm, there are currents constantly operating below the surface, so it is with a human heart.
Everything might seem fine on the surface. Life might be put together. And our theology might be on point. Yet inside us all there is an undercurrent of sin. And because it’s there, we all have a tendency to drift. And no one drifts toward Jesus, only away from Him. This is why we need to stay anchored. Because if we are not, then we will slowly, but surely start to drift away.
- We are too easily pleased
There are many things that can caused us to drift. An enticing relationship, or the love of money, or even chasing some ambition. When we take our focus off God, we instead begin to meander our way towards other things. Things that promise us satisfaction and joy, but never truly deliver. We have a tendency to believe that promise because we are too easily pleased.
We settle. We become content to find temporal pleasure and satisfaction, and the things of the world instead of by faith, believing that the greatest, and only real lasting satisfaction can be found in God. We need to anchor our souls because we know ourselves, and we know that unless we are firmly anchored in the promise of what is and what is to come, then we will settle or something less.
From Pity to Praise 