Hebrews 6:17-20 "Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: (18) That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: (19) Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; (20) Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec."
Our last devotion spoke of Jesus as being our anchor in life. Today, I would
like for us to look at another word that comes to us as the result of Jesus,
our anchor. That word is "hope". We have hope in life because
Jesus is our anchor. It is a terrible time for anyone who comes to a place in
life where he feels there is no hope. The writer of Proverbs reminds us,
"Hope deferred maketh the heart sick." (Proverbs 13:12) I think
of the two disciples who were walking back home to Emmaus after the crucifixion
of Jesus. They had waited three days before returning, but now they were
walking with their heads down and filled with dejection. They were heart sick.
Suddenly a third man was walking with them and questioning them as to why they
were sad. In essence, they said, "we trusted that it had been he which
should have redeemed Israel." They were talking about Jesus' death and had
hoped for His resurrection. But they had not seen Him and it was the third day.
"Hope deferred maketh the heart sick."
It seems their hope had been anchored in their thoughts of how Jesus would show
Himself to be alive. They must have expected great pomp and circumstance when
Jesus came out. Maybe they were expecting a brass band to play and for Jesus to
march into Jerusalem and reclaim the throne for Israel. Whatever or however
they exercised their hope - it didn't happen as they thought it would.
But "God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the
immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: that.... we might
have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope
set before us." You see, God doesn't always act in the manner we
"hope" He will, but we can be assured that He works in our lives in
the way that is best for us and shows His glory. The full picture is
found in the remainder of Proverbs 13:12: "Hope deferred maketh the
heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life." He
shows Himself to be strong on our behalf in both good times and bad times. We
can be assured through the promise of God that the anchor of our soul is with
us no matter what is going on in our lives. No, Jesus did not come out of
the tomb with trumpets blaring, but He showed Himself to these two men when
they were heart sick. He walked with them and talked with them when they were
at their lowest.
This is the One Who anchors my soul. He has said, "I will never leave you
nor forsake you." That's my blessed assurance through the very
promise of God. I rest myself in my Lord Jesus Christ.