Living Anchored

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)

An anchor is designed to do one primary thing. It keeps a ship from drifting. The waves can beat against it, the wind can blow it back and forth, and the current may try to pull the boat, but the anchor holds the ship in place. It is not because the ship is strong enough to resist the water on its own, but rather because the anchor goes down deep enough to hold against whatever comes at the surface. That is exactly what the writer of Hebrews is talking about when he calls hope an anchor of the soul.

The Greek word for hope here is elpis. And it does not mean what most people mean by the word “hope.” In everyday English, hope is wishful thinking. “I hope it works out.” “I hope things get better.” Those phrases are mixed with uncertainty but dressed up in polite language. But elpis is something else entirely. It is a confident expectation. You expect something good, and you are confident about it, not because of what you can see, but because of who made the promise. Your soul is your mind, will, and emotions. And when hope serves as an anchor, it holds all three in their proper place. The mind stays clear and thinks the right way; the will stays strong to do God’s will; and your emotions stay governed and not out of control.

However, when Biblical hope is not the anchor of your life, those same three things go haywire. Your mind will race from one thing to the next; you lose the willpower to follow God’s will, and your emotions take over.

People make destructive decisions with their lives when they lose hope. This is why the enemy specifically targets hope. He works to convince you that what God promised is not really coming and that your situation is the exception because he knows that if he can get your hope, he can get everything else that follows from it. Biblical hope is both sure and steadfast, the verse says. Sure means it is reliable. You can put weight on it and believe in it. Steadfast means not moving under pressure.

Practical Application

Anchor yourself to sure and steadfast hope in God.

Psalm 62:5; Lamentations 3:24