Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. — Hebrews 6:16-20 (NIV)

An anchor is a huge metal vessel, which is attached to a ship, by a strong chain, rope or cable or a combination of the three. When hoisted off the side of ships, it embeds itself in the sea floor to protect the ship from drifting where it sits, or is docked. It is also a secure protector for a ship when severe unexpected weather comes. An anchor can be temporary or permanent and can be located in both the bow (front) of a ship or the stern (back) of a ship. In Mark 4:35-41 Jesus presented himself as an anchor, when He and His disciples were sailing to the other side of the lake and a great storm arose. Waves were probably crashing into their boat like a semi-truck hitting a brick wall, as hurricane-like wind twirled around them and the sound of thunder pounded at their eardrums, while the lightening blurred their vision and lit up the dark sky. In this case, it can be imagined, the disciples did everything in their power to prevent the ship from sinking and themselves from drowning. Yet, throughout all the chaos that was going on, they noticed something odd, odd at least to the human eye. They noticed Jesus, sleep in the stern of the boat on a cushion in the mist of the storm, little did they know, He was their anchor resting on the back of the boat…just waiting to be used…waiting to be asked…waiting to be trusted. Then they woke him and said to Him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" So, Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the storm was gone in an instant and everything was calm. It is here that Jesus acted as a permanent anchor for not only the ship, but for his disciples souls. Then He asked the twelve, why they became fearful and doubted. 

Sometimes it is very easy to be like the twelve and allow fear and doubt to hinder us from believing that the Lord will help us when a major storm is wreaking havoc in our lives. We as children of God have to remember we are the heirs of His promise. Everything God said, He will do, and every storm we go through He will calm, but we have to trust Him, and not doubt. Doubt causes us to be tossed back and forth like the wind and waves tossed the ship in the storm the disciples were in, and it deafens our ears to God's voice and blurs our vision to what God may be trying to show us. Therefore, we end up becoming double-minded which causes instability in everything we do. (James 1:6-8) However, trust, most importantly trust in God causes us to be stable and secure, knowing that the Lord will work everything out for our benefit, our favor. So, if God said it He will do it! Moreover, if we hope in this, it becomes an anchor for our very soul, firm and secure.

Written By: Chase Sutton
www.GenuineLife.com