My Anchor Holds With the Veil
When Darkness veils his lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace. In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil. These lyrics are from a timeless hymn of the faith, The Solid Rock, and one of the reasons why the precious hymns of the faith are so near and dear to me. They’re timeless reminders of the preciousness of the faith, doctrine and more importantly of the Saviour we’ve all come to love and adore. I guess I’m old school on the hymns! Not a bad thing considering how much has been lost today in worship through pragmatism and compromise. Sound biblical preaching and sound hymnology have been reshaped by the culture.
What I found interesting is the nautical references, all of which are useful and encouraging for the believer. There are plenty of these found in everyday life and Jesus used them often to illustrate important biblical truths. Truths meant to encourage, build up and embolden believers to press on.
This hymn and the text mentioned below go hand in hand and find many useful applications. For example, it is my understanding that ships will sometimes be held just outside the harbor. There could be a number of reasons everything from low tides, storms, customs, etc. They will drop anchor and wait until such time as they can enter in. The anchor keeps them sure and steady preventing them from drifting out to sea or inland. Anchors are meant to keep the ship temporarily moored and safe while the ship is awaiting its opportunity to berth.
While navigating through the ebb and flow of life, enduring storms of all degrees, pressing onward towards the prize, we await our opportunity to berth, a docking of sorts, like ships that have their special docking station Christians have theirs in their inherited place in heaven alongside Christ, safe and secure.
The word for an anchor in Latin is ancora which means, refuge, hope, and support. All of which can be said of Christ. He truly is all of those and much to those who are adopted as his sons and daughters. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness trusting in anything other than Jesus Christ is surely going to let you down.
The word of God in speaking about Christ our hope and the immutability of God states this, “…hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus…” Hebrews 6:19-20
While we can’t see the anchor, faith serves in the place of our eyes and teaches us that Christ, and he alone, holds us fast as we journey through this life. With the social and political culture, the principalities and powers up against us, not to mention many of the physical battles that we face daily it brings peace to the soul knowing that our security in Christ is immutable.
The anchor is sure meaning that Christ will never fail you. Regardless of how stormy gales come up against you, the anchor chain won’t snap; it will not yield nor give way. In fact, anchors will dig in deeper and get a firmer grip when the ship is being tossed about.
What rest and peace, what comfort and hope that we have as Christians to know that Christ is our sure anchor. What assurance we have in knowing that heavenly mercy and grace are renewed morning after morning and that we can boldly claim his strength for own. What fears and doubts can overtake when you are confident of your position in Christ?
The anchor is stedfast regardless of your life’s situation Christ holds us secure. While there are many directions I could go here for me the most significant is the fact that I am secured IN HIM! His stedfastness is my stedfastness! Paul the apostle lays this out nicely in Romans 8:35-39. Christ truly is our hope and our refuge an anchor not just in a time of storm but all times.
When a ship drops anchor it holds the ship sure. You can’t see the anchor, but by faith, you believe it is there doing what it was designed to do. The same holds true regarding Christ, while we’ve never seen him, faith confirms to us that he is ever-present working in our lives never leaving nor forsaking us just as he promised. He secures us fast to himself.
Is Christ your anchor, are you secure IN HIM?
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