Will your anchor hold in the storms of life

I recently heard a story about a little boy who was sailing his little sail
boat in a pond in the park. He had tied a string to the boat so he wouldn't
loose it, but it had come untied. The boat began to drift out further into
the pond than the boy could reach and of course he became very upset. His
father was watching the whole thing and walked up and began throwing large
stones to the far side of the boat. The idea of course was that the splash
and the ripples would begin to move the boat back towards the shore. Before
long the boat was back within the reach of the boy and he was happy once
again.

I wonder if sometimes that is how God works in our lives? We begin to drift
away from him, fail to talk with him, fail to worship with his children, do
we fail to live lives which would honor him. Then something happens to upset
the calm waters of our lives, it makes a big splash and cause ripples.
Hopefully these things will cause us to begin to drift back towards God. Do
you think that God ever uses those bad or difficult things that happen in
your life to get your attention and shove you back into his arms?

I think the problem is that sometimes our string becomes untied, we loose
our anchor and we drift. We sometimes sing the old hymn, "Will your anchor
hold", notice some of the words:

Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift, or firm remain?

We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior's love.

The writer of the book of Hebrews uses this theme to assure us that we can
trust in God. God never changes and never goes back on his word and is
always there for us. Notice what the writer says: "God also bound himself
with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure
that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and
his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God
to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great
confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong
and trustworthy anchor for our souls."(Hebrews 6:17-19, NLT)

Is your string securely tied? Will your anchor hold? Will you recognize that
the ripples or storms taking place around you may be God trying to get your
attention? If you are "fastened to the Rock," then you can speak the words
of Psalms 23 with security and serenity of one whose father is watching over
us. You can sing the words of the song knowing even the storms won't cause
you to drift?

Russ Lawson