Greetings once again, my sisters! I trust that God is giving
you grace and strength for each day and each responsibility.
You realize, don't you, that life isn't always easy? Life is
comprised of storms. Even in that truth, there is a recognition that not all
storms are created equal. There are soft showers, there are dousing downpours,
there are tumultuous thunderstorms, and there are even horrific hurricanes.
God doesn't deny that storms come. Quite the opposite. He
freely reveals that difficult storms come, and He calls them trials of our
faith. "Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience"
(James 1:3). "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than
of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto
praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ" (I Peter
1:7).
In the storms, it is our faith that is tested. It isn't too
hard to keep faith in the showers and downpours. We might even do okay in the
thunderstorms. The hurricanes become the most challenging of all. In such
storms, life seems impossible. There is no way out. Destruction seems imminent.
We are battered and bruised. We can barely catch our breath.
We wish that we had some encouragement or hope of seeing an
answer. If we just knew when the storm would be over, it might enable us to
endure. If we were assured that we would survive the storm unscathed, maybe we
could wait it out. But in these storms there seem to be no answers, no
assurances, no guarantees. The uncertainty and hopelessness add to the
intensity of the storm itself, and we may feel like we are alone on a tiny
rubber raft in the middle of a hurricane, lost in the middle of a great ocean,
with no one knowing where we are and with rescue attempts impossible.
Reality check: life for a Christian is never as bad as just
described. Yes, it might feel that way, but it isn't that way. Why? Because we
have a God who is watching over us. Because we have a God who has all power and
wisdom. Because we have a God who loves us beyond measure. Because we have a
God who gives us precious promises and assurances.
When I consider life as a stormy assault on faith, I love
this verse. "Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and
stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil" (Hebrews 6:19).
There is an anchor that is so secure that it can hold us through every storm. Every
storm. Not even the harshest hurricane is a match for our anchor. We have a
hope that serves as an absolutely reliable anchor.
What is that hope based on this passage? I find it a little
difficult to be dogmatic about the answer, but let me tell you some of the
truths found in the preceding verses. First, Abraham received a promise from
God; he patiently endured and then obtained the promise. Second, it is
impossible for God to lie, so every promise He makes will be fulfilled. Third,
we have a hope set before us, which I believe refers to heaven. My personal
opinion is that the primary interpretation of "hope" in this passage
is the promise of heaven. In truth, all three truths work together. God can't
lie, so He kept the promise He made to Abraham, and He will also keep the
promise He has made to us. Like Abraham, we may have to go through an extended
time of not seeing answers, but the answers God has promised will most
assuredly come.
In the meantime, our faith must endure, just as Abraham's
did. Abraham was known for his faith, but he was not perfect in his faith. In
fact, if you study his life, some of his greatest failures resulted precisely because
of a lack of faith. But Abraham grew in his faith. As he went through each
storm, he became more mature in his faith, until he faced the most difficult
storm (being asked to sacrifice Isaac) with unshakeable faith and with
tremendous victory.
So if you are battered and tossed, if the storm seems
insurmountable, and if no rescue seems imminent, cling to that anchor. It won't
move. You might be flung around. Your feet might find no solid footing. You
might not see anything but darkness. But you can know that at the very core,
you will not move. If you cling to the anchor, you will survive. When the storm
has ended, you will look around and find that you are just where you need to be
and that you were not nearly as lost as you had imagined.
I close with one verse and one passage from Psalms. "By
terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation;
who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar
off upon the sea" (Psalm 65:5).
"They that go down to the sea in ships, that do
business in great waters; these see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in
the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the
waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths:
their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like
a drunken man, and are at their wits' end. Then they cry unto the LORD in their
trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a
calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be
quiet; so he bringeth them into their desired haven. Oh that men would praise
the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of
men!" (Psalm 107:23-31).
Endure. Wait. Hope. Trust. As long as it takes. His promise
is true.
Love in Christ,
Peggy Holtmember at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
www.pressingontohigherground.blogspot.com
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