Who is your anchor?

Hebrews 11:1-Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Several years ago, my husband and I bought an old fishing boat. It wasn’t fancy. It was blue, very used and the motor wasn’t the greatest. It was what folks would call a “John boat”. We loved it. I was the one who learned how to back it up and put it in and out of the water. This was because the truck we owned was a stick shift and my husband never learned how to drive it. Once in a while, the motor would give us fits and decide to not start on the first try. We weren’t small engine experts either. We just wanted to have fun, fish and zip around the water. Each day, I ask the Lord what he wants me to talk about in my blogs and today he put this story in my heart to share with all of you. I like when he does that. He is an amazing and wonderful God.! Anyway, we have a friend that we are still friends with to this day, almost 30 years later. Walt loves to fish, and probably knows more about it and boats than my husband does. Walt came up one day and they decided to take our boat down to this local lake. Before they left, I gave them both a very stern warning to NOT GO NEAR THE DAM. The lake had a dam in it and from growing up in the area, I know how people who aren’t familiar with them don’t understand how they can pull you closer. It was important for me as a wife and friend to remind them to please stay away from that area. I had mentioned it to my husband a few times when we’d take the boat to this lake. I could only pray that he was listening and not having selective hearing at the time. They left and I prayed, “Lord, please keep them safe and return them home safe and sound.”. Eventually, as the hours went by, they came home both looking a little shaken. Finally, my husband fessed up and told me that they decided to cut the engine on the boat and just float around a bit. I can’t recall if they were actually fishing or not. I want to say they weren’t. I think they were just out messing around with the boat having fun. Well, they weren’t paying much attention, until my husband noticed that they boat was drifting closer and closer to the dam. He got up and pulled the engine to start it. Yep, you guessed it! It wouldn’t start. By now, he’s pulling and pulling with all he’s got, our friend is giving it a go. Nothing! My husband said at one point he told our friend, “She told us to not get close to this thing”. It was then he remembered that they had an anchor. He dropped the anchor, giving them the time, they needed to figure out why the motor wouldn’t start. This story reminds me of the time in Mark 4:38-40 when Jesus was asleep in the boat during the storm:

³⁸ Jesus was inside the boat, sleeping with his head on a pillow. The followers went and woke him. They said, “Teacher, don’t you care about us? We are going to drown!”³⁹ Jesus stood up and gave a command to the wind and the water. He said, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind stopped, and the lake became calm.⁴⁰ He said to his followers, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

I think that during the storms in our life we tend to forget that the Lord is always with us. Just because he might seem like he’s not there, doesn’t mean that he isn’t. So, when you feel like you are drifting further and further away, remember who your anchor is.