Anchor

 What anchors your soul?

 The question can be asked another way, what holds your hope? There's no shortage of promises out there that call to us, attempting to invoke the spark of optimism in our searching hearts. TV commercials are filled with products that claim to have the ability to fill, to satisfy, to meet our demanding expectations. I think most of us understand, though, that a type of deodorant will not really make the ladies swoon at our feet.

 I think most of us hope for something deeper and greater than the illusionary results gum, a car, or a vacation promise to offer. Gum loses its flavor, cars need repairs, and vacations end.

 So, if our hope is not in what we buy, what do we put our hope in? Good lives for our children? Will that satisfy; if we see our children educated, healthy, and safe? Maybe. That's a good thing to realize; but it is not guaranteed. Many have faced the distress of watching a wayward child sink into pain and suffering. 

 How about a good retirement? The American dream. Retire early, play golf, hang out at the beach; simply do what I want to do after forty years of serving the man. Sounds appealing, right? Maybe. Again, not guaranteed, and there are stories of disappointment - boredom, monotony, and lack of fulfillment. 

 Remember the song Working for the Weekend by Loverboy? Everybody's working for the weekend. Everybody needs a second chance. I really enjoy my weekends, but to work all week for it? And what of this need for a second chance? Admittedly, there is truth to the lyrics in that 80's song. Who doesn't want respite and a second chance? But does that really exist in the universe?

 While we all may look forward to all of these things, do they anchor our soul? Do they reel our emotions in when hardship or tragedy strike? Do they bring soothing or peace when our soul is in turmoil or guilt? Hardly. They are not stabilizing because they are not guaranteed. Retirement funds dwindle and some weekends are spent fixing the plumbing.

 There is one thing, though, that is guaranteed; one promise that is more than a "I hope so" type of hope, and this hope rests in the promise.

 God has promised that everyone who looks to Jesus, who sees this man, the Son of God, hanging on a cross, crushed by our guilt and sin, bearing our punishment, paying our debt, and believes in Him shall live even after he dies. This promise gives us the hope of Eternal Life, and no one who hopes in Him will be disappointed. Trials will come, difficulties may abound, but He who promised is faithful - He will bring us home and keep us safe to the very end.  

 But this is your choice; always has been and will be until your dying day. You have before you the fading hope of the temporary offers and promises of this life, or the hope of everlasting joy. As the drummer from the Newsboys so appropriately asked in the movie God's not Dead, "So, where do you find your hope?"

 I'll ask it another way, "Where will you put your hope?"


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