Every time I go through tumultuous times I see an anchor that keeps me strong and that stabilizes me when the waves are too rocky. The anchor is hope. Hope is what the Lord reminds me to hold on to in difficult times. It’s a beautiful and strong anchor that can’t be moved as long as I keep my eyes on Him. It is so easy to get distracted by the craziness of the world. We lose sight of the One who died for us. As soon as we take our eyes off of Him, the world can draw us in and swallow us up like moving sand. The anchor of hope, friend, is provided by God and it can weather any storm. Hope is a gift from God that keeps us in God and that keeps us on the right track. God is a God of hope. Where there is God, there is hope. There is always God somewhere and everywhere so there is always hope even when we can’t spot it in the seas of confusion.
If I put my hope in the Lord, I will renew my strength like Isaiah said. If I put my hope in the world, I will run into disappointment and I will be holding on to something with limited substance. Hope is a spiritual fruit. God is the ultimate incarnation of all the spiritual fruits so holding on to the hope of the Lord is holding on to God. There is no one better to rely on and depend on at all times. When we hold on to hope, the God of all hope fills us up with other spiritual fruits. Hope is the entry way for more of God. Hope is the mouthpiece of faith and it allows its siblings to come into our lives and strengthen us.
Another amazing aspect of hope is that as we let a little bit of it in, more of it can come. It’s like we give it permission to grow in us when we open the door to it. The Lord promised to give us overflowing hope through the Holy Spirit. Consider the anchor of hope to be a switch that turns on the light of more hope. If you hold on to it, it will increase and it will light the way for a path of blessings that will surpass your expectations. Hope never goes away. If we don’t see it around, it’s because we moved away from it. It doesn’t disappear.
I can’t hold on to the anchor of hope without holding on to the anchor of love at the same time. I could but it wouldn’t be as effective. When you look at faith, love and hope, love is the biggest one of the three. It is the operator that keeps everything functional. If you have lost sight of hope today, I pray that God enlightens you again and you can see that hope is here to stay. God is here to stay. If you are in a very trying time, know that you can still hold on tight to the anchor of hope and the anchor of love. Hold on to the anchor of His love. His love says that hope belongs to you. Go to the Lord if you are burdened today. His anchor of hope will get you where you need to be!
Suggested reading: Psalm 119:114; Hebrews 6:19; Hebrews 10:23
