{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 would have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged - we have this hope as a anchor for the soul, firm and secure." Hebrews 6:17-19}
I love the mental picture of a person tethered to an anchor, being tossed by the waves and yet secure in that fact that they will not be taken under.
How like that guy I feel so often! Our world is so unpredictable, our standards so variable, our spirits so tossed and chaotic...if we are lashed to the wrong things. Left to ourselves, we would follow the false hope of anything that would seem to sooth our anxiety in the moment, in one way or another. Left without an anchor, our soul would drift to people, things and an endless search for meaning and hope in a world that offers so little of it.
This HOPE we talk of, is hope that is worth holding ourselves to like an anchor holds on to a ship. It is stabilizing and secure.
I also love the thought leading up this metaphor, "we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us".
As calming as the idea of the secure and firm, is the idea of fleeing the things that are not that. We cannot attach ourselves to the security of this hope we profess AND the unstable desires and expectations of the world as well. These less than secure promises must be fled from, rejected and left behind.
There is only one hope, one Lord, one Spirit and one God who is in all, through all and over all (Ephesians 4:3-6)...and what a firm and secure God and Hope we have!
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The Women of Grace bible study is moving onto verses that remind of us of the peace that comes from this HOPE, starting tomorrow. If you would like to join us as we move into that new part of our study, we would be most blessed by your sharing with us!
{Welcome ifellowshippers! ..so blessed to have you here!}
Good morning Courtney! Visiting from Seeds of Faith iFellowship and wanted to say hi. I love your post today and will be back when I have more time to read leisurely. :) Gotta check out those tote bags too. I can never have enough, and I've been looking for a *great* bible bag for a long time now. Think I may have found what I'm looking for. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your sweet encouragement this morning Bobbey! Let me know if I can help in any way! Have a wonderfully blessed day! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Courtney,
ReplyDeleteJust was looking at ifellowship for the first time. I'm from Australia and haven't been blogging long. Your blog looks wonderful. Isn't it amazing when Christians from all over the world can share experiences, ideas and fellowship!
God bless,
Liz