Hope—Anchor of the Soul

By Bunni Pounds

“This HOPE we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast...” -Hebrews 6:19

I have always liked the picture of HOPE as a ROPE. It sounds funny - like a cool rhyme to laugh at, but it really makes sense. Our hope is attached to the promises of God and the character of God. 

HOPE doesn’t feel as secure as faith sometimes. It is a little more confusing to us as a concept. 

When we pray for someone to become born again, we do it by faith, not hope. 

When we believe for our marriages that need restoration, we believe by faith, not hope. 

When we cry out for help with our finances, we pray in faith, not hope. 

HOPE is not the complete “knowing” of the future that faith seems to brings us into, but HOPE really is just as secure. 

HOPE is steadfast. We can trust in HOPE because our HOPE is in Jesus and who He says He is. While we may not know how our story ends, we know who holds the future. 

Pause right now, my friends, and cast your hope (your rope) upon the only one who is complete security. He is the only real anchor for your soul today.

This picture of HOPE being attached from our soul like a rope and anchored in the bottom of the sea gives me so much peace for some reason. 

The anchor is secure regardless of how I feel in the moment, and just like you, I have felt moments this week of complete insecurity over everything going on in our world. 

Even though the waves are swirling around us in our nation, Jesus is our anchor. 

No amount of President Trump exhorting us to calm down or stop hoarding toilet paper can bring peace when our souls are caught up in fear, terror, and uncertainty. 

Only Jesus can bring true peace in the midst of this national storm. 

Our leaders can speak reality and truth, but our fears can still take over, screaming in our ears, until Jesus whispers into our turbulent souls as He did on the boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee - “Peace. Be Still.” 

It might, at times feel like we are unconnected to the anchor, with the waves crashing in around us, but that anchor is firmly planted at the bottom of the sea and it is not moving.  It is secure and sure. We can trust it! His promises are true.

Today many of our souls are full of fear and uncertainty about our futures. 

In less than a week of this coronavirus crisis, many have lost wealth in the stock market, with many also in fear what the next eight weeks might bring. 

As the Centers for Disease Control are issuing new recommendations for gatherings to be less than 50 people at a time, pastors are afraid of how these restrictions may impact their churches. How many tithes and offerings will they lose? How are they going to pay their staff payrolls?

Parents are worried about the effects of their kids being out of school for an extended period of time. How are they going to survive? What are they going to do with them for that long? How will they work while taking care of the kids?

With the closure of college campuses, students have been kicked out of their dorms - two months before the end of the semester and having to leave their friends and their plans behind. 

Small business owners with little cash flow are trying to figure out how they are going to survive the next few months. 

The airlines are struggling and some pilots might be out of work soon. 

Fear. Uncertainty. Even a little bit of terror. 

For those of us who remember 9/11/01, this feels like a slow burning 9/11. 

And all of this doesn’t even include the fear of actually getting the virus and getting sick.

This is our moment of testing, church.

What about His promises? Is His Word the strong and secure anchor of our soul? Is Jesus enough?

Let me tell you - He won’t let us down.  

This anchor called JESUS is not moving. 

We can put our HOPE in the ROPE that is ANCHORED and STEADFAST. 

Together, let’s pause, stop, and HOPE.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a HOPE.” -Jeremiah 29:11

Need more encouragement? Check out our blog post Coronavirus: Break Off the Fear!

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