The photo above is the newest addition to our home decor: a beautiful sign that reminds me of God’s inspired word and His precious promises. Here’s what Hebrews 6:18-20 tells us:

“So that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” (ESV)

The anchor that the Scriptures are alluding to is not an anchor that is still in place on board a ship. Instead, our hope is an anchor that is deeply rooted in the sea; holding the ship in place while the storms toss it to and fro. Not only that, though, but our hope enters into the holiest of holies. Our anchor goes to the very mercy seat of God. Our hope extends beyond ourselves and into the very presence of our Maker, because Jesus, our High Priest, has made this personal connection possible.

So where is this even going? Where’s the practical application?

It’s simple: I need hope.

In the past couple of weeks, I have felt like I was drifting on that wild, wave-tossed sea. Storms of life have seemingly cropped up out of nowhere and flooded my soul with hurt and confusion and sadness and anxiety. I have felt deeply wounded and broken-hearted. I have felt disappointed in myself and others. I have tried and failed to be pleasing to God. And that’s why I need hope.

I am thankful to have a wonderful husband who supports me and cares for me and helps me, but he’s not enough – and it’s not fair for me to try to make him enough. I am thankful to have some supportive friends to lean on and text during emergencies, but they aren’t enough. They are all fallible. They will all disappoint me at some time or another. That is why I need hope. I need Someone to cling to who won’t let me down. Someone who will keep me afloat. I need God, and I need the promise that one day it will all be better (and worth it).

Knowing that heaven awaits is the anchor for my soul. The promise of being face to face with God; of living in a place where Jesus is the light and I will be free from pain and toil and hurt and tears. That is my anchor. That keeps me above water in hard times. When I feel like I’m going to drown in despair, or crumble beneath the winds of Satan’s blows, heaven is my anchor. Knowing I will be in the safety of my Father’s house one day keeps me holding on. Keeps me from giving in. Keeps me ever enduring, even when the storms just keep coming and keep getting stronger.

When Robert and I were on our Steps of Paul tour, we spent a rough night at sea in route to Crete. It was a difficult night of trying to sleep while looking out our tiny porthole and seeing nothing but sky and then nothing but sea as we rocked relentlessly the entire night. That’s how my soul feels sometimes. Relentlessly rocked. Unsteady. Terrified. But thanks be to God that I am in the hands of the One whose voice controls the waves of the sea and the waves of doubt. I am in the hands of the One who can calm my fears and rescue me from this temporal, frustrating, difficult life. If I didn’t have that hope – that earnest expectation that my Father would rescue me and give me my promised reward of heaven – I don’t know how I would make it. I don’t know how anyone makes it.

I want you to have that hope. I want you to know without a shadow of a doubt that you are God’s and He is going to give you heaven. That is a conditional promise – given on the condition of obedience. If we will follow Him, He will reward. That’s His promise, and our verse above tells us He cannot lie. And so, if you want to have hope in the time of turmoil, seek Him diligently. Follow Him whole-heartedly. Step off the boat and into His care. He will not let the winds destroy you.

I am so grateful that I can face the storms of life with my God ever-present. I am thankful that my Mediator is the One who calms the storms with His voice. I am thankful that my hope of living eternally with Them can anchor my soul while it’s living temporarily in this tempest-tossed world.

Hope is available. The anchor is the there. Choose obedience today so that it can be your anchor, too.