Anchored in the Storm

Life. Is. Hard. There are certainly seasons of smooth sailing, but things can get rocky quick. Life altering circumstances unfold. Heavy burdens weigh us down. Sometimes we absolutely blow it and can’t imagine things ever being right again. At some point, we find ourselves in the middle of a storm and if you’ve been through a major storm you know the struggles don’t always end when the storm ends. How do we praise when we’re hurting? How do we hope when we’re breaking? How do we trust when we’re waiting? Where do we turn when we don’t know how to put one foot in front of the other anymore? What do we think when nothing makes sense? We need something that can keep us held firm in the storm. Something unwavering. Something sure. We need an anchor. We. Need. Jesus.

When I’m pressed, perplexed, and knocked down what I know to be true is this: Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (2 Corinthians 4:8, John 14:6). He is the unwavering anchor we need. In Him we have eternal salvation (1 John 14:10; Romans 6:23, 10:13), but He also saves us to walk in newness of life day to day (Romans 6:4). His Word gives hope that we can run and not grow weary, walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31).

I have felt weary. I’ll get real, there are days I have fallen flat on my face. So where do we look in our weariness? The simple answer, we look to Jesus. I get it though, sometimes that seems hard and there are days it feels impossible. The storms cloud our view of Him and at times feel like they might sweep us away from Him. I hope to encourage you with a few things that have helped me survive life’s storms and the wake of their destruction. I don’t have it all together and I certainly don’t have all the answers. I am one struggling person held by the anchor of Jesus hoping to encourage another.

Encouragement #1: Dare to hope.

“Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.” (Lamentations 3:21-23 NLT)

I have faced a time in my life where by all human reason all hope seemed lost. Maybe you’ve walked a path like that or a few paths like that. Before the author of Lamentations declares his hope in and praise of God in the verses above he says, “The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss (Lamentations 3:19-20 NLT).” There are things that we will never forget. Hurt, suffering, loss, and many trials we face are truly “awful.” We need to grieve our losses. Daring to hope does not mean you wash your face, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, and carry on with a strong façade like all is well. Daring to hope means you remember what is true, remembering you have an anchor. You remember that God’s faithful love never ends. His mercies never cease and they are fresh each morning. You remember that while life might appear to be spinning out of control and the ground beneath your feat feels anything but firm, God is in control. He is firm. He is steady. He is faithful. Don’t push your feelings away or try to ignore the reality of something that is bad. Weep. Scream. Cry out to God. And as you do, have hope in the Him who truly holds the whole world in His hands.

Encouragement #2: Fix your eyes on Jesus.

“...let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith...” (Hebrews 12:1-2 NASB)

What are your eyes fixed on? The debt piling up, the person who hurt you, the rebellious child, the unwanted diagnosis, the memory of what was lost? Maybe it’s the list of everything that has to get done today as you attempt to juggle 30 other burdens while little ones cling to your ankles begging for all of your time and attention? These things have a way of pulling our gaze like a magnet and weighing us down like a semi-truck is resting on our shoulders. Paul encourages us to do something different. He urges that we “…fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18).” Sometimes it feels like the storms we endure are anything but temporary. Fixing our eyes on Jesus and the hope of eternity is not ignoring the reality of our struggles, but it keeps us focused on our help and our relief. He saves us, He’s sent the Spirit to help us, and relief in eternity is certain in Jesus. Don’t lose heart! He is preparing for us an eternal glory that far out weighs our earthly troubles (2 Corinthians 4:16-17).

Encouragement #3: Trust Him.

“Commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him, and He will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.” (Psalm 37:5-7 ESV)

Trusting. Being still. Waiting patiently. If you’re good at these things or feel they come natural to you please send me a message to give me your secret. Personally, I am prone to wanting to jump in to fix myself, everyone, and everything. This hardly turns out well. Notice the language in the verses above from Psalms 37. We are instructed to commit, trust, be still, and wait patiently. These aren’t all passive. It takes action on my part to do these things, but the action is not towards solving the problems all around me. The action I am to take is towards God. Psalm 55:22 says, "Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you." If you aren't praying (talking) to Him, it's pretty hard to be trusting Him. To trust Him I need to be on my knees in prayer, listening to what He says in His Word, and walking this out with people who point me to Him. Reach out to your church leadership for help. Schedule an appointment with a trained Christian counselor if things are simply too heavy. Let people help you trust Him and point you to Him. Don’t attack the problem entrust yourself to Jesus instead.

Encouragement #4: Press on.

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already made perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. (Philippians 3:12 ESV)

Things will not be perfect this side of heaven and you will not be perfected this side of heaven. We are in process and will be until we meet Jesus face to face. Our path is often one of straining and pressing on. Do not misunderstand me here, our salvation is a gift of God we cannot earn it and we do not work to secure it (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 8:31-39). He saves and secures us, but we aren’t mindless puppets. Trusting and following Jesus in a storm isn’t always easy and we often find ourselves doing things contrary to what is popular. Don’t throw in the towel. Don’t give up. Don’t try to press on in your own strength, press on by pressing in to Jesus.

Encouragement #5: Hold firmly to the Word of Life.

“Hold firmly to the word of life.” (Philippians 2:16 NLT)

Want to get active in dealing with a storm? Read the Bible. Memorize verses and whole books if you can. Put it on notecards, post-its, and pretty art work on your walls. Listen to music filled with truth from the Bible. Listen to the Bible on a cd, an app, or a tape if you still have those. Let it be where you can see it. Let it be where you can hear it. Pray for the Spirit to help you understand it. Cry out to God in faith to help you where you don’t believe it.

“O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! (Psalm 34:8 ESV).”

“With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You (Psalm 119:10-11 NASB).”

“Let my soul live and praise you, and let your rules help me. (Psalm 119:175 ESV).”

Encouragement #6: Count it all joy.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds (James 1:2 ESV).”

Circumstances sometimes leave us more ready to weep or scream than rejoice, but maybe these reactions do not have to be an either/or. The Psalms give example after example of expressing feelings about a situation while turning to God in joyful praise. My greatest joys have come as God transforms my heart and mind, not by the transformation of my circumstances. The group Casting Crowns captures this idea of “counting it all joy” well in their song “Praise You in this Storm.” This song dates me a little, but I’m ok with that. Here’s the chorus:

And I’ll praise You in this storm

And I will lift my hands

For You are who You are

No matter where I am

And every tear I’ve cried

You hold in Your hand

You never left my side

And though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm

I lift my eyes unto the hills

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord

The Maker of Heaven and Earth

Maybe you’re sitting there thinking, “where does my help come from?” Your help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth. Dare to hope in Him. Fix your eyes on His Son Jesus. Trust in Him. Press on holding firmly to the Word of Life. Count it all joy as you live a life of praise to Him. He will anchor you through this storm.