Mona Selden writes daily devotions for her church, Marion Baptist, in south-central Virginia. She is co-host with her pastor on The Mosaic of Marion podcast. She is the author of two 31-day devotionals. Her writing and teaching are done with the desire to help others get to know God better through His Word. Mona’s husband is USAF Retired. They are enjoying their newly empty nest and have become grandparents for the first time.
“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain.” – Hebrews 6:19, ESV
Hebrews 6:19 is a popular verse to put on t-shirts and plaques. On those, the anchor is depicted as neat and cute, cartoonish even. But an anchor is not just a cute decoration on a boat.
An anchor is a vital part of a boat’s equipment. It has to be strong enough to get down into the muck and mire to hold the boat fast. It must be able to be placed among the rocks in just the right way so that it will not be moved. Without it, a boat will drift and not have any chance of staying in one spot.
When we read about hope being a sure and steadfast anchor, we must first consider what hope is. Our hope is not a “hope-so” kind of hope, but a “know-so” hope because it is based on our risen Savior. We hope in the power of the resurrection because we know the truth of it. We hope in the promises of God because we know He keeps them. It is not because we have a “hope-so” hold on these things. We don’t sit and hope that God’s Word is true; we know it is. That is our hope—our anchor.
The writer of Hebrews describes our anchor as sure and steadfast. It is immovable and firm. As a sure anchor, it keeps us secure. As a steadfast anchor, it is firmly fixed. We can rely on this anchor and trust in it. Our hope is the anchor for our soul; it is that which keeps us in place.
In a recent sermon, my pastor made this statement about our anchor, “If we don’t have a sure and steadfast anchor, we will drift and find ourselves in a place we are not meant to be.” If we do not have this hope as our firm and fixed anchor, we cannot stay true to God and His Word. Instead, we will be caught by the currents of this world and drift into situations and behaviors we are not to be in. If we don’t have this anchor holding us steady and immovable in God’s truth, we will begin to drift and be swept away by the current of the lies of the enemy. We will begin declaring those lies as truth because we have not been kept firm in God’s truth. Without a sure and steadfast anchor, we will find ourselves drifting away from a risen Savior to a world that is dying and lacking hope of any kind.
Living the Christian life is difficult. But our sure and steadfast anchor can be counted on to hold us firm in our faith—to hold us firm in our walk with God.
