Acts 27:1-6
Anchor of Stability
Charles R. Swindoll
The anchor of stability holds firm when your navigation system fails. It's easy to lose your bearings in the storm. You can't find your way through the circumstances you face. Life rolls along fairly smoothly until suddenly the seas grow rough. Unseen problems occur. They were not in the forecast. In Luke's words, "All hope of our being saved" is abandoned.
Those are treacherous moments when we reach the point of abandoning hope. At that difficult, gut-wrenching moment, God says, "Don't be afraid, I have a plan." People facing intense adversity find it difficult to focus on anything other than the towering waves and stinging winds. Paul firmly announces, "Be of good cheer . . . we've heard from the Lord that none will be lost."
We find stability in storms through what God has said. Your tendency will be to turn to another source for strength rather than the Word of God. Don't go there! The only anchor of stability that will hold you firm, no matter how intense the gale-force winds, is God's written Word.
All this reminds me of a statement made by one of the ancient Jewish prophets, which supports the reliability of God and His Word. The following words flow from the seasoned hand of Isaiah: "But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, 'Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you'" (Isaiah 43:1-2). What encouraging words! "Do not fear, I have called you by name." What a great thought!
Isaiah was not writing of literal waters or actual rivers. His figure of speech emphasized encroaching circumstances that threatened the stability of one's faith. When the waters rise to dangerous depths, when difficulties reach maximum proportion, when your ship seems to be disintegrating board by board and starting to sink by life's inevitable storms, God is faithful. He promises, "I will be with you." He is your anchor.
Additional Food for Thought
I believe there are FOUR ANCHOR POINTS TO LIVE BY...
- Anchor Yourself to His Word -- First, our anchor needs to be secured in the timeless, changeless, applicable Word of God. When mourning, I turn to the Psalms and read the Laments-the funeral songs-to find comfort and hope in Him. When alone, wondering where God is, I turn to the end of Genesis and read how God was with Joseph in the dark passages of his life. When seeking wisdom for practical living, I go to Proverbs and James. When weary, unable to plod on, I turn to Isaiah 40, Job 38-41, and Matthew 6 for reassurance that God will lift me when the burden is great. There is not a challenge in life where God is absent or unable to bring light to my dark path. So please, go to the first and most fundamental anchor in life, the Word of God. It restores hope and brings peace in the midst of storms.
- Anchor Yourself in His Character -- Just as God's Word is an anchor, so is knowing God's character. Only in Him do we find absolute strength, peace, joy, satisfaction, hope, trust, unconditional love, and so much more. When the raging winds blow, anchor yourself to the rock-solid character of God. He desires to be our strength in weak moments, our peace in the midst of pain, and our refuge in stormy seas. He will never leave us nor forsake us. In a fallen world, we will experience and endure countless hardships. Only in heaven will life be perfect, but He offers us an opportunity to cling to His perfect character in our imperfect world.
- Anchor Yourself in His Sovereign Hand -- I have learned to place my trust in the unquestionable, sovereign hand of God. God is not partially sovereign. He is not in control only when we have it good and then out of the picture when it's tough. As Job stated to his struggling wife, "Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" (Job 2:10). How easy it is to shout from the rooftops that God is sovereign when we like our lives. But what about when we lose everything? Our long-standing faith is usually replaced with lingering doubt.
I don’t know what the future holds of my life and the lives of others I hold so dear to my heart. But I do know that my faithful God is in complete control, and I accept the good and the tough as both being within His sovereign grasp. When life gets difficult, I am comforted by God's presence. When life brings blessing, I am comforted that God owns it all and I am only a caretaker of His property. It is all His. Letting go brings such freedom. The last anchor will show how letting go is possible.
- Anchor Yourself to His Goodness -- For the final ancho...I have found that meditating on the goodness of God closes the gap when my faith is failing. I am reminded of Hebrews 11…that Faith is what we hope for but cannot see. There have been days when I did not see any evidence of God’s goodness, that God was not the least bit interested in my struggle. Then and only then did I stop to listened to His still small voice and realized that God’s goodness never changed and it was that we simply stopped looking for it.
You may ask, "What good can come from a specific circumstances?” As with most in the midst of a storm we cannot find anything good to shout about. Yet that is not the issue. The true issue is…how God transforms our weakness into His strength. In allowing Him to do so, you and I will watch God take the bad things of life and bring good things out of them. That is what happens as we walk the lonely roads of heartache and sorrow. I will never label heartache as good in itself. It's tough. But what comes from it is good, and that is what God takes delight in doing and seeing in every one of His children.
Remember - Without GOD, your week would be: SINDAY, MOURNDAY, TEARSDAY, WASTEDAY, THIRSTDAY, FIGHTDAY, and SHATTERDAY. Seven days a week GOD made, but without Him your WEEK is WEAK.
But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord
Joshua 24:15