“Because God wanted to show His unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner, because He has become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrews 6:17-20
Short on hope? I know the Hope Dealer.
There are days when I feel short on hope, like I’m drifting, lost. Thanks be to God that He has intervened on my behalf, that when I run to Him (and not some counterfeit hope), He gives strong encouragement and indwelling strength to hold tightly to the real hope in Jesus that is set before me.
Writing it out is my act of defiant hope, one way I stir up my own soul to hold fast, to hold out hope, to myself and others, when it seems hopeless. I have been born again to a Living Hope, (1 Peter 1:3).
Read that again: I was born for this!
I was made to hope! You were made to hope!
Hope has a name — His name is Jesus.
Jesus Himself is my anchor. He can’t be lost, and He won’t lose me! I cannot lose hope! His Holy Spirit causes hope to spring up within and overflow without, (Romans 15:13).
As if we should need any more convincing (though sometimes in my hardheadedness or heartache I do), God has made His purpose for us abundantly clear. We are heirs of the promise! That’s mind blowing to me when I really pause to think on it! May we seize that hope today, what Jesus has accomplished for us. He is sure and unshakable, certain and steadfast.
Later in Hebrews, we are commanded to “hold fast to the confession of our hope,” namely, what we believe about Jesus Christ, (Hebrews 10:23).
If we are to hold fast to what we believe about Christ then it is absolutely crucial that we spend time with Him, in His word, getting to know Him, allowing Him to change us and shape us from the inside out. Jesus Himself is the Word of God and the Word Made Flesh, (Revelation 19:13, John 1:14).
Where else would we go except to the Bible, God’s word of truth? It is living and active. Effective.
It is able to penetrate my heart and mind and reveal to me ways in which my thoughts and intentions aren’t in line with scripture and God’s purposes for me, (Hebrews 4:12).
When we open it and read it with eyes to see God, His word has the power to speak directly to you and I. So let it.
Make it personal.
Recently, I’ve really benefited from taking the extra step to insert my name right into His Word. The Holy Word holds direct access to my heart. It’s personal.
Amy has this hope as an anchor for her soul.
Try it:
[Insert your name here] has this hope as anchor for her soul, firm and secure.
Let it all rest there — whatever comes, we are anchored by the hope that “cannot slip or break down under whatever pressure bears upon it,” (v.19 AMP).
Apart from Christ, I am a storm-tossed raft about to capsize in the open seas. Without hope to anchor my soul, I drift away from where I truly want to be. I feel lost.
Do you ever feel lost?
I know it’s not just me. Let this truth wash over you and anchor you in hope once again:
Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.”
Luke 15:4-6
When you feel lost, Christ pursues you. He seeks you out, and when He finds you, He carries you on His shoulders. He’s not condemning you, He’s joyfully bringing you back into His fold. When all hope seems lost, here is cause to hope again: Christ Himself carries you. Return home to hope!
And if you do not yet have this hope, if you do not yet know Jesus — oh, how I’d love to introduce you!
Want to see something else really beautiful? As I typed out the verse from Hebrews 6:19, my device autocorrected “anchor” to the word, “answer.”
I have this hope as an answer for my soul.
That’s so good!
When there are doubts and worries and unknowns and questions, I have this hope as an anchor — sure, steadfast, unshakable, certain.
And I have this hope an answer to my soul.
When overwhelm and anxiety threaten to strike and thoughts and questions swirl — when the Confuser tries to twist the word of God and cause me to doubt God’s purposes and heart for me, I have an answer. An answer to quell and dispel the lies of the enemy and to answer the longing and question in my soul: Do You see me, God? Are You with me even in this?
I have this hope as an answer to my soul. Because He desires to make it even more clear, convincing, without a doubt: Hope has come, Hope is here, Hope is Jesus.
Even now, even in this, whatever our “this” may be: Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave Himself up for us and went ahead of us to give us direct access to the Father and speaks to us directly through His Word and chases after us to bring us back to Him — Welcome home to hope!
Listen up, soul. “Amy has this hope as an anchor for her soul.”
You, too, friend — you were born for this! You have an anchor and an answer for your weary and overwhelmed heart.
Pray with me:
God of Hope, Stir up hope! You are the anchor and the answer for our souls. You are our refuge and strength, our ever present help in every single moment. We encounter Living Hope through the Living Word, and that is the kind of hope that endures. When we feel lost, remind us that You pursue us in Your goodness and mercy and joyfully carry us home to You. That’s where joy is found: in You! Yes, Holy Hope Dealer, Joy Bringer! Help us to seize the hope set before us, to hold fast to our confession of hope without wavering, because You are faithful!
