“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul…”

                 It didn’t take very long to figure out.  When man first began to venture out on the high seas, they learned very quickly how unstable the waters were.  Being on the surface of even a smaller body of water, with its chaotic fluctuations due to tides, currents and waves, was not like being on land!  It can sometimes take hours for a human’s inner ear to restore the sense of balance after being on the water for an extended period of time.  The lack of stability and predictability taught men quite early to have one piece of hardware on a ship at all times: an anchor.

Ancient history tells us that anchors were first made of wooden crossbeams with stones tied to the ends.  But wood rots, and if an anchor is to work correctly it must be made not only of the right material, but also be designed properly.  The word anchor literally means “curved,” and is not a translation of a Greek word, but an anglicized form of the original Greek.  Man discovered in the days of simpler technology that a curved design was absolutely essential for the anchor to work properly.

In Hebrews 6 we move into an exciting portion of the book.  The writer begins verse one with leaving “the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity.”  Surely deeper stuff is coming!  He says in verse nine, “…we are confident of better things in your case—things that accompany salvation.”  The believing Hebrews were concerned that in their trials, God might have forgotten their work (v. 10).  So the writer provides several examples of saints who were diligent and strong in faith beginning with Abraham.

But to have faith in God presupposes that God has something for us to believe, and those things precede our faith in him.  In this passage God promised to Abraham “many descendents” (v. 14).  It took a while, but Abraham lived long enough to see that promise initially fulfilled (v. 15).  But God was not content with just promising; he wanted to make sure that others — “heirs” plural (v. 17) — understood his intention too.  So God “confirmed it with an oath.”  He did this by “two unchangeable things,” that is, his consistent character and “the unchanging nature of his purpose.”  These words really zero in on God’s plan, which is a picture of his character.  Like the land we walk on, neither one changes.  We whose natures are turbulent and trendy, like the waves and currents of water, “have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us [so that] we may be greatly encouraged” (v. 18).  In other words, we can’t find stability in ourselves, our efforts, our thoughts, or anything else that emanates from us.  We must cast ourselves completely on the Lord, his character, his promise and his oath.  He does not change.  He is stable and secure.  We are not.

That is why Jesus is our anchor.  Notice that “this hope” (v. 19) has entered “the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus…has entered.”  Our faith, the anchor chain, is in him, and he has gone to the place where we cannot go ourselves.  He who is made of the “right material,” and has the “right design,” has approached God the Father.  As the anchor grasps onto the ocean floor bed or hidden rocks there, so Jesus grasps on the Father’s character and embeds himself to him for us.  And both Jesus and the anchor do their best work beyond our sight — inside the inner sanctuary and below the surface of the waters, respectively.  As the anchor keeps the ship steady and prevents it from drifting with the current, so Jesus steadies our hearts and lives, and prevents us from getting caught up in the swirling currents of the world.  In such an unstable world and in such an unpredictable time, this is certainly strong assurance!  This is how the writer begins to describe the maturity mentioned back in verse one.

This anchor is “firm and secure.”  The first word originally meant the opposite of being tripped up.  The second means steadfast, firm and secure.  Certainly this speaks of our Savior.  He was never tripped up, never unstable.  His life was always steady.  He constantly displayed a calm demeanor, a quiet confidence in his heavenly Father, an assurance that his will would be accomplished.  He never chased the limelight, never worried, never panicked.  He was everything that would elicit our trust and confidence.

When you look at your life, does it model the Anchor of your soul?  Your Anchor is strong.  How well connected is your anchor chain to the Anchor?