by Michael Duduit The Anchor Still Holds

Did you know there are different kinds of anchors? Not being a yachtsman myself — due to lack of funding more than interest — I was surprised to learn that there are a variety of different anchors for different situations.

For example, there are "lunch hooks" which are very light and are used for short daytime stops when the boat's crew plans to stay aboard the vessel. The "working anchor" is used for overnight stops, and the "storm anchor" is used in stormy weather conditions. Many vessels will carry more than one working anchor — one for soft bottoms (where the anchor can dig into the seabed) and another for hard bottoms (where it simply rests on top of the rock).

Yet with all this diversity in anchor styles, weights and looks, there is remarkably only one function for an anchor: to hold a boat in place. No matter the type or cost of anchor you may have, it still has just one purpose.

Certainly the author of Hebrews understood this truth when he wrote these words: "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure" (6:19, NIV).

"We have this hope," we are told, and the "hope" that has been given to us serves as "an anchor" for our souls. The hope we have — and the anchor -- is Jesus Christ. Why is He our hope? Hebrews tells us that He is the One who "enters the inner sanctuary" on our behalf. As any first-century Jewish reader would have understood, the "inner sanctuary" was the holiest area of the Jerusalem Temple, where only the High Priest was allowed to enter, there to offer a sacrifice for the sins of the people.

Yet in His death and resurrection, Jesus has Himself entered the "Holy of Holies" to offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. What we could never do for ourselves, He has willingly done on our behalf. And because He has paid the penalty that was rightfully ours, and through His resurrection has conquered both sin and death on our behalf, He has become our living hope — an anchor for our souls.

He is an anchor who holds us firm in all times and all conditions. In the times of peace and calm, and in the tumult of squalls and storms, He is our anchor. He holds us "firm and secure."

As we go through our personal and professional lives — encountering the joys and sorrows that are inevitable results of our humanity — we can rest securely in the knowledge that we have a hope that will not let us down — an anchor that will hold us firm and secure no matter what life brings our way.

And that is good news worth sharing.

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Michael Duduit is President/CEO of American Ministry Resources LLC, and editor of Leader Links. You can contact him at michael@leaderlinks.com or visit his website at www.michaelduduit.com