We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. -Heb 12:19-20
I stared at this verse for a few minutes before I got it. The author of Hebrews is discussing the encouragement and certainty available to those who cling to God's promises. The hope of a promise’s fulfillment is like an anchor for the person who has it. The greek word for anchor is used 4 times in the New Testament, and only in this one instance is it used as a metaphor. But what an apt picture. A person with an anchor can use it in harbor, at sea, or in a storm. And if the anchor is secure, the sailor knows he will only ever be a short distance from the place he has lodged it. In the case of Abraham, he lodged his anchor in the certainty of God’s unchangeable promise to multiply his descendants. But a promise like that takes a lot of patience and Abraham knew he would not see the completion of the promise in his lifetime,
Abraham walked in faith, anchoring his hope in the word God spoke. But Abraham saw only glimmers of fulfillment in his lifetime. But the situation we find ourselves in coming into 2020 is so much better than Abraham’s. We have the joy of seeing 4,000 years of promises fulfilled in the lives of those who anchored their hope in God’s certain promises. And most importantly we have Jesus who has forever marked our history and our future by entering God’s presence on our behalf to broker reconciliation between God and human beings.
Our anchor does something that Abraham’s could not: it goes through the “curtain” that separated the people of God from the Presence of God in the Holy of Holies. Jesus went there first to offer atonement for sin. When he did, he left the door ajar as it were so that we could enter ourselves with confidence and a clean conscience... and so that we might be able to anchor ourselves in the real, manifest presence of God. Because of this stunning reality, we can live anchored in heaven—in the presence of God—and we will know that wherever we go, we will never be far from the Presence into which we have cast our anchor.
As a Christian walking through daily life, it can be easy to think “I’ve drifted away from God”. But if we have put our hope in Jesus, who has opened the way for us to anchor ourselves in a better hope, we only need to tug on our rope to realize that we are still anchored in God and that his Presence is always available to us no matter what the ocean surface looks like. It is easy to build whole systems of thought and theologies around the subjective experience of “not feeling” God. We call them valleys, desserts, or dark nights. While this language is meant to comfort those who experience pain, they can also become self-fulfilling prophecies. Sometimes I’ve found myself reflectively pondering “am I in a dry season?” rather than remembering where I put my anchor and letting the reality of God’s constant nearness shape my present experience.
Over time I’ve come to trust the resilience of the Presence of God in my daily life more than whatever I’m feeling on a given morning. I can’t count the number of times I start to think “boy I’m really far from God right now” and the simple mental exercise of asserting the truth of God’s nearness causes that nearness to be felt and experienced in my present reality in a way that forces me to say, “well I guess God wasn’t as distant as I thought… hey maybe I’m not in a dessert season after all!” I’ve practiced this discipline daily the last 3 years and I haven’t seen a true dry spell yet spiritually. This experience of God’s presence is not abstract or philosophical: it is a distinct physical/mental/spiritual experience. It is as real as tugging on a rope and recognizing you are still anchored. Christians who have seen real transformation in their lives will tell you that the experience of God’s closeness is everything to them: the conviction for sin, the power for repentance, the assurance of His love, the pathway to holiness, the strength for prayer, the confidence of belief, and the motivation for good work. His Presence is all we have: it is the inheritance we have begun to enjoy through the first fruits of his Spirit.
Because our hope is anchored in the Holy of Holies, we truly can live from heaven, presenting a different reality than what the earth is familiar with. Wherever we go, and no matter what we are experiencing, one tug on the rope reminds us of where (and in whom) we are anchored. The constant reminder of the security of our tether will progressively and invariably transform our experience of life on earth.
