Wednesday’s Word
by Dorette Saunders
It’s strange how the most unlikely things can turn one’s mind toward the gospel. Recently, the increased chaos of wars and threats of nuclear proliferation, of people from neighboring countries and faraway lands seeking asylum, of political upheaval fomented by those who have lost their moral compass, caused me to turn to the stability of God’s Word. Like a ship without a rudder, our world seems to be heading at a frenetic pace toward a calamitous end.
What we need is an anchor.
Somehow the thought of an anchor brought back memories of a seven-year-old child singing at a Sunday School concert. If I lacked anything in vocals, my mother and grandmother made up for it in creativity as I held tightly to a large, freshly-painted, blue cardboard anchor.
“Be very sure, be very sure, your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock,” I sang.
Back then, although I went on to sing the next line, “This Rock is Jesus,” I did not know him. That would take another 10 years. So, as we read the account of the disciples in a boat battling a storm (Matthew 14:22-33) I can certainly understand how these men who had been with Jesus for only a few, short years, did not fully know him. When Jesus approached them walking on the sea, their fragile minds caused them to scream in fear. Even bold Peter who begged Jesus to let him come to him on the water, eventually lost his nerve and began to sink.
Truly knowing Jesus involves being anchored. It is by no means an easy task. Winds of opposition blow. The situations which you believed you had nailed down forever often lift, without warning, like a roof being pummeled by a tornado. Sometimes you may even wonder if Jesus is in the boat with you (a thought most Christians would not admit to entertaining).
But he is. Always.
The thing about being anchored is this: We must put our complete trust in God. Once we do, we must leave all the consequences to God because we can never be anchored in our own strength. Our ability, and stability, comes from the mighty power of the Lord.
The apostle Paul describes it this way: “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord…” (1 Corinthians 15:58, NIV).
Let nothing move you…
Furthermore, God gives us this promise of divine protection:
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
(Isaiah 43:2, NIV)
Notice it does not say “if” but “when.”
Jesus tells us that Christians are not immune to being tossed around in our chaotic world. Yet he reassures us, as we make him the captain of our souls, he will anchor us through every storm.
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, NIV).
It’s time to check if you have an anchor. Not a flimsy imitation, but an anchor which is Jesus himself. Then, as you emerge from your storms, you will praise Jesus as the disciples did, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God” (Matthew 14:33, NIV).
PRAYER: Be my anchor, Lord. Help me hold fast to your Word even when I’m scared, and when it seems that life has counted me out. Keep me moored to your side; let me know that the tug and pull of the world can never dislodge me from your faithful arms. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
©M©dytations 2023
by Dorette Saunders
It’s strange how the most unlikely things can turn one’s mind toward the gospel. Recently, the increased chaos of wars and threats of nuclear proliferation, of people from neighboring countries and faraway lands seeking asylum, of political upheaval fomented by those who have lost their moral compass, caused me to turn to the stability of God’s Word. Like a ship without a rudder, our world seems to be heading at a frenetic pace toward a calamitous end.
What we need is an anchor.
Somehow the thought of an anchor brought back memories of a seven-year-old child singing at a Sunday School concert. If I lacked anything in vocals, my mother and grandmother made up for it in creativity as I held tightly to a large, freshly-painted, blue cardboard anchor.
“Be very sure, be very sure, your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock,” I sang.
Back then, although I went on to sing the next line, “This Rock is Jesus,” I did not know him. That would take another 10 years. So, as we read the account of the disciples in a boat battling a storm (Matthew 14:22-33) I can certainly understand how these men who had been with Jesus for only a few, short years, did not fully know him. When Jesus approached them walking on the sea, their fragile minds caused them to scream in fear. Even bold Peter who begged Jesus to let him come to him on the water, eventually lost his nerve and began to sink.
Truly knowing Jesus involves being anchored. It is by no means an easy task. Winds of opposition blow. The situations which you believed you had nailed down forever often lift, without warning, like a roof being pummeled by a tornado. Sometimes you may even wonder if Jesus is in the boat with you (a thought most Christians would not admit to entertaining).
But he is. Always.
The thing about being anchored is this: We must put our complete trust in God. Once we do, we must leave all the consequences to God because we can never be anchored in our own strength. Our ability, and stability, comes from the mighty power of the Lord.
The apostle Paul describes it this way: “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord…” (1 Corinthians 15:58, NIV).
Let nothing move you…
Furthermore, God gives us this promise of divine protection:
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
(Isaiah 43:2, NIV)
Notice it does not say “if” but “when.”
Jesus tells us that Christians are not immune to being tossed around in our chaotic world. Yet he reassures us, as we make him the captain of our souls, he will anchor us through every storm.
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, NIV).
It’s time to check if you have an anchor. Not a flimsy imitation, but an anchor which is Jesus himself. Then, as you emerge from your storms, you will praise Jesus as the disciples did, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God” (Matthew 14:33, NIV).
PRAYER: Be my anchor, Lord. Help me hold fast to your Word even when I’m scared, and when it seems that life has counted me out. Keep me moored to your side; let me know that the tug and pull of the world can never dislodge me from your faithful arms. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
©M©dytations 2023
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