Our Anchor Holds
By David Brandt Berg
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“We who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.”—Hebrews 6:18–191
Change is one thing that really drives us closer to the Lord. You’ve heard it said, “All things change but Jesus never.” “Change and decay in all around I see, Oh, Thou who changest not, abide with me.”2 Everything changes except the Lord, so we learn to trust the Lord. He’s the only thing that remains constant.
One of the circumstances when this is most evident is when we move to a new place or especially a new country. We become accustomed to our homes, things, friends, or habits, and we tend to rely on or trust in those things. But then when we are suddenly in some place far away, it can cause significant culture shock. When businessmen, teachers, or students go to foreign countries to work or study, some of them also experience culture shock, because they’ve been used to having the same thing all their lives—the same language, the same friends, the same place to live. All of a sudden they can’t rely on those things anymore.
Some people don’t want to have to adapt; they want the same routine every day. It gives them a feeling of security that those things that they’re attached to will always be there and their life will always be the same. But then if a disruption comes along, they are shaken and feel insecure.
As Christians, we can take changes because we have an anchor that holds us steadfast and sure. We have a rock that is always solid that we can always trust. So in some ways our lives are much the same every day because we trust the Lord every day. We have that Rock, we have that anchor that keeps us safe and secure all the time, no matter what the waves are like, the constantly changing sea and life-changes we face.
We have someone in whom we can rest reassured, eternally secure, knowing that we don’t have to worry. He’s going to solve every problem and always meet the need, whatever it is, and keep us safely wherever we are, whatever we’re doing.
We have that anchor. We have that rock to hold on to. Our faith. The Lord. So no matter what happens around us on the constantly changing sea of life, it doesn’t have to move us. We can survive it and surmount it. We know we’ve lived through past changes and we can live through future changes, because the Lord is without change.
So hold on to the Lord! “I am the Lord, I change not. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.”3 Praise the Lord! He remains the same—always faithful, always trustworthy, always there, always bringing the solution to every problem and answering every need.
So we have that feeling of constant security that surmounts anything else in life. But for people who don’t have the Lord, it doesn’t matter how secure a life they appear to lead; nothing is secure, and it may all fall apart at some point. They have no foundation, nothing to hang on to, nothing for an anchor, nothing for a solid rock for a foundation.
For us, no matter what happens or where we go or where we live or what the conditions may be, the Lord’s still there and He’ll always keep us, no matter what. So we can have a wonderful feeling of security that unbelievers cannot, no matter how long they live in the same place and do the same things and go to the same school and have the same house and the same pets and the same friends. They’re in the most precarious position of all because their feeling of security is a false sense of security that can be interrupted at any moment and fall apart when even one of those things on which they rely changes.
We have constant complete security in the Lord all the time. “I’ve learned to be content in whatsoever state I’m in.”4 My mother used to remind us of that time and again when we kids would complain about having to leave school or get to school late in the year or moving and being on the road, all kinds of things. That was one of her favorite verses: “I’ve learned to be content in whatsoever state I’m in.” It’s a wonderful thing to learn to be content.
That’s the wonderful thing about trusting the Lord. When you don’t know what’s going to happen, you just know the Lord’s going to somehow work everything out for our ultimate good, no matter how difficult it seems at the time. He always does. He never fails! Praise the Lord!
Though the angry surges roll
O’er your tempest-driven soul,
You’ll be peaceful for you’ll know,
Wildly though the winds may blow.
You’ve an anchor safe and sure,
That shall evermore endure.
Oh, your anchor holds.
Blow your wildest, then, O gale.
On our bark so small and frail,
Praise God, we’ll never fail,
For our anchor holds, our anchor holds.
Mighty tides about me sweep,
Perils lurk within the deep,
Angry clouds o’er-shade the sky,
And the tempest rises high;
Still I stand the tempest’s shock
For I’m anchored to the rock.
And it holds, my anchor holds.
Blow your wildest, then, O gale.
Though my bark is small and frail,
Praise God, I shall not fail,
For my anchor holds, my anchor holds.
—William Martin, 1902
Jesus holds us. He’s our anchor! And He’s going to hold you no matter what. Jesus is going to hold you!
Even if you stumble and fall, the Lord will lift you up. So don’t worry, no matter how many times you stumble or how low you may fall. If you have Jesus and you love Jesus, you’re His child. You’d never desert your own children, you’d never cast them out, you’d never send them away, no matter how many times they stumble or fall or hurt themselves or do the wrong thing or disobey. You’re still their parent. You still love them. You’ll always forgive and always take them back because they’re your child, your son or daughter, your little one. They’re yours forever, just as you are His forever. So He’ll never leave you or forsake you, even unto the end of the world! He’ll hold you fast!
Originally published December 1988. Adapted and republished October 2015.
Read by Simon Peterson.
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