We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain…
What hope do we have? In what do we place our hope?
Many times we place our hope for stability and safety in things like insurance, bank accounts, jobs, or dreams for a better life.* If compared to reality, these hopes fall apart quickly. Jobs can disappear, bank accounts can empty, dreams can be broken, and insurance can fail to restore. With this fickle reliability in mind, realists might even argue that it is foolish to hope.*
English poet Lord Byron wrote, “But what is Hope? Nothing but the paint on the face of Existence; the least touch of truth rubs it off, and then we see what a hollow-cheeked harlot we have got hold of.”*
Playwright Jean Kerr suggests that, “Hope is the feeling you have that the feeling you have isn’t permanent.”*
The hope to which they refer is a natural hope. It’s a hope that can be lost and broken quite easily. This is the hope that the world offers.* Many of us have found ourselves without hope because the reality of our situations have erased it.
Despite our hope-killing experiences, we all long for safety and security.* We strive to find an anchor for our lives. We wish to escape the fear and anxiety that insecurity provides.
Growing up, the anxiety and fear of rejection were constant companions. In fact, they still try to hitch-hike in my soul from time to time (still failing sometimes to avoid picking them up). I needed an anchor to save me from my anxiety and fear, but I looked in the wrong places. I attempted to anchor my soul to the safety of isolation, the security of being judgmental, and the shelter of acceptance. It was a failing combination, and I lost hope for a season.
True hope, the hope that Christ offers as an anchor for us, is, as George Guthrie shares,
grounded in revelation, encouraged by the Spirit’s work in us, and cognizant of future realities. True hope, moreover, produces purity (1 John 3:3), patience (Rom. 8:25), fulfillment (5:4–5), joy (12:12), and stability (Col. 1:23).
This hope does not falter or fail. The metaphor of a secure anchor promises that we cannot be moved out of the secured presence of God, no matter the storms of this life.* Tethered to Christ, we are secured in Him.
Ponder that for a moment and breathe it in. Christ holds you to the place of intimacy with God. It is not your works. It is not your effort. It is not your ability to achieve. Christ anchors you to the secret, holy place of meeting with God. You are secure.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to anchor your hope in Him and His work. Perhaps today God wants you to remember that you have access to Him via Jesus despite your failings and imperfection. Maybe today God wants to free you from insecurity and fear by knowing that He is holding tight to you.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
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*Stedman, R. C. (1992). Hebrews (Heb 6:16–20). IVP Academic.
Grindheim, S. (2023). The Letter to the Hebrews (D. A. Carson, Ed.; pp. 332–337). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
France, R. T. (2006). Hebrews. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, pp. 88–89). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (pp. 247–249). Zondervan Publishing House.