Anchor

This post is going to look slightly different— instead of introducing or giving background information about the company, the hope for this is that you will gain insight into one of the print designs so that you may see the intended purpose behind it, and be encouraged by it. Most of our prints make you think of a tropical paradise where soft sand surrounds your feet and the sun beams upon your face. Likewise, in this tropical paradise you can look upon a sail boat bobbing in the crystal blue ocean. How is the sailboat remaining in place? Through the anchor, of course! The book of Hebrews was originally written to Jewish members of the Church with the purpose of encouraging them to maintain their faith in Jesus Christ and not to return to their former ways. The author of Hebrews describes what keeps us grounded in the midst of the waves or storms of the sea, just like the anchor does for that sailboat.  

“17 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. 18 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 set before us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf…” (Hebrews 6:17-20, NIV).

Did you catch that? Hope is the anchor for our souls, firm and secure. Hope is not simply wishful thinking, but it is confidently looking to the future with assurance. The reason we have the opportunity to look forward to the future with assurance is not because we know the plans of the future, or because we somehow can control the future or will our desires into the future— no, not at all. In Hebrews again we gain insight into why hope can be the anchor for the soul. “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23, NIV). Our basis for looking to the future with assurance and allowing this to be our source of anchoring, is because “he who promised is faithful”— that is, the one true God, in which my hope lies, is faithful. And just like the writer in Hebrews diligently points out, he is unchanging in nature and it is impossible for him to lie. God in the very essence of who he is, is “abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands” (Exodus 34:6-7, NIV). So this hope that anchors our soul involves choosing to believe and trust in the promises of God, in his very nature, as more real than your present circumstance. It’s not easy, of course, but it is infinitely worth it because that is what keeps us grounded, resting on a firm, unchanging foundation, rather than swaying or being swept up by the storms about— just like the sailboat being anchored. Choose to be anchored in the hope that comes from the God who abounds in love and faithfulness and will never fail!