The Anchor Line

The bigger the storm and stronger the winds, the more distance you must place between the boat and the anchor. There will also be greater tension on the anchor line as well as an increased angle of the anchor line relative to the sea floor.

If the winds are calm and it’s a slick cam on the water, then the distance between boat and anchor will be the least, tension on the anchor line at a minimum, and the degree of angle of the anchor line is at its lowest.

Sometimes, when the conditions are just right, the boat will hold in place without the aid of the anchor. If the wind is coming out of one direction and the current out of the opposite direction, the force of both will cancel each other out and the boat won’t move. You can look overboard and see your anchor line all slack with no tension, suspended in the water column.

Now, why am I telling you all of this?

Jesus is our anchor. The anchor line is our faith. We are the boat. When things are going well, it doesn’t take much faith to be close to Jesus. The opposing forces of life, the trials and tribulations seem to be cancelling each other out. You don’t think you really need Jesus in your life. Besides, He’s close by anyway. We don’t have anything to worry about, right?

But then the storm comes. A storm will always come. Now you’re battling strong wind and tides, the natural and supernatural forces of life. The situation you’re in is fierce. The storm pushes you further and further away from the anchor of Jesus. You begin to wonder why Jesus was so close by during the good times but is so far away during the really bad times. You keep getting pushed out into the abyss of the storm, waves building, rain pelting and then suddenly, you notice that you’re not going anywhere. The anchor has held. There’s enough line out that allows the boat to ride up and down the waves and to withstand the horizontal motion created by the impact of the waves broadsiding the boat. It’s blowing a gale, but the anchor and anchor line have held.

It’s easy to lose sight of the necessity of Jesus when everything is going right. When there is no tension on the anchor line of faith, when your faith is not being tested or tugged on, it’s easy to take Jesus for granted. We can assume that we can get along just fine on our own without Jesus, especially when life’s wind and current are just right. We begin to believe that we are the master of our vessel. We began to believe that Jesus is only needed for the really big storms in life, or for the lesser captains.

Here’s something to really think about. The anchor is most effective the further away you are from it. But the further away from the anchor, the stronger the anchor line must be. If the anchor line was weak and of little strength, it would never be able to withstand the test of the storm.

Jesus is our anchor. He is perfect, always true, always right, immutable, and never will change. “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

So, if the problem can never be the anchor, then the problem must be with the anchor line, our faith.

“For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17).

Little or no faith and belief in Jesus will produce little or no results.

“And he (Jesus) did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” (Matthew 13:58).

Regardless of the conditions, have faith in Christ. Bad seas or slick cam, have faith in Christ. Jesus is always there for you. Sometimes He lets a storm carry us out a bit so we’ll feel the tension on the line. That’s just a friendly reminder that Jesus Christ is always there for you.

“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” (James 1:2-4)

Bill Hitchcock