Anchors

Anchor points keep you in place and steady. 

When a storm comes, it’s too late to prepare. The anchor points must be in place and ready - In life and in the storm, it’s time to trust those anchor points. Because, ‘unless a solid point is found soon, (in the storm) the hull of the heart will be splintered.’*  And restoring the hull of a boat or a human heart is a difficult, long and delicate process. Better never to get to that by being prepared.

In life, preparation begins with faith-filled perception.

Let’s take the example of Jesus about to face the final act of destiny of His earthly mission. ‘To the casual observer, the 6 hours are mundane. But to a handful of awestruck witnesses, the most maddening of miracles is occurring. God is on the cross, the hill called skull is the granite studded with stakes to which you can anchor. During 6 hours, God embedded in the earth 3 anchor points (3 crucifixion nails) sturdy enough to withstand anything… He descended into the deepest waters to leave anchor points for His followers.’* Jesus went into the tomb so that He could come out. In that spectacular act of absolute love rests all the grace and power we need now.

‘God is at His best when our life is at its worst. God has been known to plan a celebration in a cemetery.’ We don’t stop reading God’s story at the tomb; we read to the end of the Gospels - to the resurrection and infinity and eternity. Your story also stretches beyond the tomb into infinity and eternity. And even in the midst of this storm, you are writing your life story.

Storms happen to everyone.

Hebrews 2:1 warns us against drifting, getting off course and losing direction in our faith. By focusing only on the storm freeze-framed photo, you are unable to function in your destiny as co-heir with Christ. Hebrews 12:2-3 tells us to bring our focus back to Jesus by “looking to Jesus the pioneer and finisher of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, disregarding the shame (knowing He’ll gain the reward) and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Jesus used His physical existence to create an eternal deposit for us. To do that, He had to pass through the cross, the shame and the pain. Jesus faced His storm by seeing beyond the storm to His great prize.

In writing to believers who have a certainty of the wonderful things God has in store for them in future, Paul states, “we can have full joy here and now even in our trials and troubles. Taken in the right spirit, these very things will give us patient endurance; this in turn will develop a mature character, and a character of this sort produces a steady hope, a hope that will never disappoint us.” Romans 5:3-5a interpreted by J.B. Phillips in ‘Letters to Young Churches’.

When the seas of life are placid, and we experience smooth sailing, all is well. But life isn’t all smooth sailing. In stormy times, we need to know that our lives and everything we experience are not futile. God is in control, and you have purpose. In the midst of the storm, we have two choices: to look at the waves and the wind or focus on Jesus and the victory over storms He won for us.

Storms pass, no matter how furious they are - God and His anchor points remain. Jesus won the victory. No storm is greater than the one who said, 'Peace, be still' to the storm, and the storm obeyed. In the midst of the howling wind and beating waves in your life, remember you have the peace Jesus left you. He knew the storms we would face and left this promise: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27. In the midst of your life storms, you are anchored in this promise of peace. It takes focus on God and the right perspective to weather the storm. Times change, and storms end. 

Hebrews 12:11 warns we must not “regard lightly” or lose heart in the storm because God is using it and “later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it”. We know the storm will pass, and we are to allow ourselves to be formed in the midst of our pain. 

We can change the perspective we have of the storms. We can have the assurance that God is using it to make something beautiful. And we can take on the exhortation of verse 12-13: “Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame (a broken or unredeemed area of our life) may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.” In the midst of our darkest storm, God is making us beautiful - if we yield.

To stay in a perspective of contentment in all things, you must understand the storms to focus your anchor points in God. ASK…

Is the storm self-made through your choice or lack of choice? If this is so, be truthful to yourself and take that truth to God. Listen, and apply action to what God tells you. If you need to make amends with anyone, do so and if you need to seek forgiveness for wrongdoing or wrong thinking, get alone with God with an open and humble heart.

Is the storm an attack? There is no way the devil can make you do it, but there are times when the enemy will send forces against you to stop you from moving forward. If this is what has happened, take your life before God and ask Him to search your heart and life and show those areas where the enemy could gain entrance or create a foothold. Seek ways to change that and act on that. Also, look at the area of attack and ask God what needs to be strengthened in that area of your life so it can be fully beautified by Him.

Is the storm to bring transformation in you? Are you moving into new things, or is God 'pushing you out of the nest' so you can fly? Are there areas you need to build resilience, grow, change or gain a new perspective? Review where your life is going and think about the things you know God told you about your life. Are you on course? Speak to God about it.

Is the storm there to bring a harvest out of your sacrifice? Your sacrifice does not look like your harvest. The power is in the sacrifice that unfolds. Once the sacrifice is complete, the power of the sacrifice is released, and the harvest is beyond stopping. This is a hard one, and you get through this one just like Jesus did - seek God for strength and wisdom.

Change is inevitable, growth is intentional. The only time the harvest can be stopped is in the midst of or before entering into the storm. Jesus faced this in the Garden.

Amid the storm is the point of wanting to quit. 2nd Corinthians 13:4 “For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we are also weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.”

God sent Jesus out of love with a specific goal. God sowed with the specific goal of a harvest. When storms happen to you, use your storms to bring about change by allowing God access to the full beautifying He wants to work. Yield to God in the storm and allow it to produce a harvest of beauty and growth in you. Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.’

And in the midst of those awful stormy times when you are under attack, remember… Romans 8:35 & 37 “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?... Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Our expectation that God is faithful in all things is an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast. This great love is our focus that keeps us securely anchored to God, safe, content and kept from drifting off course.

Facing 'failure'? 

A choice you made, a word spoken in haste, a wrong investment or some other area that has now collapsed or brought pain or ruin to your life in some way. How do you deal with those failure storms? Here's the starting point: A failure is an event that happened; it is not you. You are not a failure; you only failed in something, not in life. 

No one would scold a baby for falling when it's learning to walk. Falling is a part of learning balance and coordination that eventually leads to walking and running. But it starts with falling and getting up and trying again. The most successful people in the world 'failed' many times before they reached the success they were working towards. It's a great training ground and a way for you to distinguish between what works and what does not in your life. Each day you have in this wonderful life of yours is a blank page you choose to write your life story on. You can rebuild, alter or change the direction of past 'failures' and write your life story differently with the knowledge you have gained. 

Don't freeze-frame your storm.

Looking through photos of the family a while back, I was struck that we tend to freeze-frame people. I still tend to think of my niece and nephews as kids, but they're grown and married. Your wedding photo does not represent a marriage. It's one happy wedding moment in time. Marriage is a lifetime of little moments. A photograph captures a single moment in time to represent the entire event of that part of your complex, textured life. We treat storms as snapshots of our lives and get anchored in the pain and in that single event, forgetting it’s just an image, a little part of the whole, wide tapestry of our life. So how do we avoid this while staying afloat, anchored and navigating life? Look beyond the snapshot of the storm to the eternal reality of the celebration of your life and ride out the storm. 

My partner and I have had to face our share of storms in life. We would take each other by the hand, and say:'this too shall pass.' And it does. It's our anchor phrase in the fiercest part of the storm. “In the hollow of His hand He will hide me when the storms of life sweep by.” Florence Jones Hadley. 

I've co-authored a book that will help you prepare and grow during and after storms. 'Story of my life: How to Live and Tell your story'.  This book is written to show you how to write and sell your life story. You may ask what that has to do with storms in your life. The simple answer is: everything. The first part of this book gives life skills and growth pointers that we taught internationally to leadership. It's filled with a wealth of resources that will help you storm-proof your life.  We used this format because we found that those who sit down and write their life story will often find clarity on where God is leading them and how to navigate obstacles to get there. Also, your story may be just what someone else needs to weather their storm and live their story. To enjoy this book, simply click the button below, and please use the other free resources I offer by subscribing to my uplifting monthly content.

*quotations from 'Six Hours One Friday', Max Lucado.

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