If you’ve been to the Maritimes, you probably saw something that’s common to all coastal communities: an anchor propped up in a seaside park. Besides being a nice spot to take pictures, anchors are a connection to great ships of the past that were manufactured there, or maybe the town served as a home port. Some anchors are man-size, but many are gigantic. Once deployed, a huge ship isn’t going anywhere.
The New Testament tells us that our hope is so secure, it acts as “an anchor of the soul” (Heb.6:19-20). We’re told that Jesus “entered the veil”- a picture of the High Priest going into the holy of holies on the Day of Atonement. In other words, Jesus entered heaven and fixed an anchor for us there, like a ship’s crew would deploy an anchor in a harbour. When rough waters hit, the ship will remain in place. Our anchor in heaven keeps us secure.
This is a figure for our lives. Difficult things blow through and we feel like we’ve been shoved around or crushed. But we have a hope so strong in Jesus, it’s like an anchor tying us to heaven. We just have to hang on and things will settle down after a while. Our hope does that for us. Never let go of it, and He’ll never let go of you.
– Tim Johnson