My Anchor Holds

This must be the week for waking up with songs in my head. This morning the lines, "When darkness seems to hide His face, I trust in His unchanging grace. Through every high and stormy gale my anchor holds within the veil."

The lines of this song come from Hebrews 6:18-19; " so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil,"

In the 1st century, sailors would row to shore with their anchor and attach it securely to the rock so that unexpected storms could not move their ship. The ship might be battered and tossed in an unsettled sea, but the rock remained unchanged, secure. As long as the boat was anchored to the rock, it was safe.

Yesterday was unexpectedly difficult for me. I sat across the table from a genetic counselor for about an hour discussing family history of cancer and reliving the last month of my sister's life. The rest of the day I was emotionally spent. I felt battered and tossed.

The storms of life - especially the unexpected ones - test my faith. But I am anchored within the veil, in the holy of holies, where El is. My circumstances change; the level of my trust changes; my willingness to obey changes; but El NEVER changes.

Time to mix metaphors. When darkness seems to hide His face, when I am walking in the dark, it is impossible to know where the path lies. When a storm strikes, it is impossible to keep the boat on course. But His grace is unchanging. He is there in the dark, directing my steps. And He is there in the storm - Jesus, my anchor, holding my ship securely to El, my rock.

"Through the storm, He is Lord, Lord of all." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4UGws8RgBs