by Timothy Ruffin
NOTE: Tim is this week’s Wednesday Evening Summer Series speaker. His topic is “Stepping Away From the World.”
We tend to forget. We forget appointments. We forget names. We forget things we learned in school. It’s easy to forget. Sometimes we forget things we know that are true. When the storms of life billow, what we know can take a backseat to what is currently in front of us.
We know God loves us — the Bible tells us so (John 3:16; Rom 5:8). We know there’s a home prepared for God’s people (John 14:1-6). We know God is able and willing to forgive our sins when we confess them to Him (1 John 1:7-9). We know God is with us always (Heb 13:6).
And yet, we tend to forget. When those storms start brewing — when we get bad news from the doctor, when we lose our job and bills are due, when loved ones are suffering or have passed away — it’s then we question, “Does God love me? Is there no one who understands what I’m going through? Who can be with me? Is there any hope for a righteous person?”
That’s when the confidence of our hope matters most. The hope we have in God is not something weak or feeble. It’s not like weather or opinions that change all the time. The hope we have in God is “sure” and “steadfast.” The writer of Hebrews called it an “anchor of the soul” (Heb 6:19).
Brother Dee Bowman, a good friend and wise preacher, likes to describe our hope as a rope attached to an anchor that has been tossed from here to the very throne of God. With that simple idea in mind…
- When you’re down and out and no one seems to care, pull on the rope
- When you’ve momentarily lost your way and everything seems blurred, pull on the rope
- When depression seems your lot, you call out, and no one answers, pull on the rope
- When there’s bad news on top of bad news, pull on the rope
- When you’re tired and feel like you can’t go on, pull on the rope
- When time has eroded your health and it’s worse than ever,
pull on the rope - When you suddenly realize it’s your fault and “I’m sorry” seems to be sticking in your throat, pull on the rope
- When shame and disgrace have cast you into a pit of despair, pull on the rope
- When death has come and robbed you of someone dear, pull on the rope
- When you must finally come face to face with your own mortality, pull on the rope
God’s promises are true. He’ll keep His word. When you start to doubt His goodness and fear begins to threaten your faith, take out your Bible and remind yourself of what your Father has said — pull on that rope. You’ll find that God’s promises aren’t going anywhere. Your hope is safe and secure — a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul.