Let Down the Anchor! (An Exercise in Hope)

I took this photo when we were in Crete last month.  It seems an idyllic scene, the calm, cerulean sea and empty boat beckon.  Judging by this snapshot, one would never imagine the tempest that raged just two days earlier!  Perilous waves pounded the shore, driven by gale-force winds. Our 'day at the beach' with Kate and family was cut sadly short for the sake of safety.

It is so easy to paint the picture we want the world to see, rather than present ourselves and our experiences sincerely.  I love the word 'sincere.' It comes from the old English word meaning 'without wax.'  Dishonest potters sometimes used wax to disguise cracks in the crockery they peddled.  I fear, with the help of social media, we have learned the craft of covering our own cracks.

Six or seven years ago, when I was still teaching at the Sunrise Chapel, the Spirit of the Lord spoke to me early one Sunday morning:

"You are to wear no make-up when you teach today."

Perhaps for some this would not be too difficult, but for me   it was intimidating  to  present myself in an  unvarnished state!  I prefer to even out my skin tone with foundation, enhance my shrinking eyelashes, and add color to my fading lips!  The silly thing is, I don't even remember the subject of my message, BUT I WILL NEVER FORGET THE LORD'S LESSON FOR ME THAT DAY!

Though I did put on a little 'varnish' today, my intention is to set aside pretense, in hopes of bringing encouragement to any who may find themselves in the midst of an unexpected storm.

Four years ago this week all of our worldly belongings were carefully packed up and loaded into a container.   I stood in the doorway and said goodbye to beds and bedding, kitchen utensils, all my herbs and spices, Grandma's depression glass...even my precious piano.  I tried to imagine their long journey through the Panama Canal, across the Atlantic Ocean, all the way to Edinburgh.   My heart was torn between grief and anticipation of the coming adventure.

Our experience here in Orkney has been much like the weather.  We have been blessed by glorious sunny days!  However we have also weathered some pretty fierce storms.  Our goal has been to 'be a blessing.'  With the Lord's help, I trust He has used us here...but we sense that our time in Orkney may be coming to a close.    

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Honestly, the thought of packing up and  starting over again is daunting.  I find it ironic that Henry wrote a book called "Seasons with Sojourners," during our first years here.  Of course we never dreamed we were still 'sojourning,' but thought we were here to stay!  In my attempt to come to grips with the reality of my life, I looked back through my journal entries from 5 years ago...

"Our Almighty God is like a parent who delights in leading the tender children in His care to the very edge of a precipice and then shoving them off the cliff into nothing but air.  He does this so they may learn that they already possess an 'as yet unrealized' power of flight that can forever add to the pleasure and comfort of their lives...

Do you understand that God may take away your comforts and privileges
in order to make you a stronger Christian?"
(Streams in the Desert/Spurgeon)

Islands along the coast of Crete

Yesterday I read the account of Paul's shipwreck in Acts 27.  He was a prisoner, being transported to Rome.  After encountering some rough weather in Cyprus, they sailed along the coast of Crete, hoping to reach the harbor at Phoenix and spend the winter there.  A gentle wind blew and the captain made the foolish decision to sail on toward Rome.  Soon 'a tempestuous wind' struck, driving the ship along, out of control.

I can imagine how the 276 sailors and passengers felt.  They were helpless captives, their lives endangered by the foolish decision of the man at the helm.  The ship was  violently tossed about by the storm.  After three days  they threw all the cargo overboard in hopes of lightening the load and saving themselves.  They didn't see the sun or stars for many days.  Whether from seasickness or fear, I am not sure, but they stopped eating altogether.  Luke records:  "...all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned."

Have you ever experienced something like this?  Have you found yourself caught up in stormy circumstances beyond your control?  You  feel isolated, abandoned. You cannot see your way ahead, so you lose hope?  I must admit that I have been quite close to abandoning hope several times during the past two years.  It is difficult to trust God's sovereignty in the midst of turmoil, pain and confusion! 

Going back to Paul...On the fourteenth night of the storm, around midnight, the sailors suspected they were nearing land...fearing they might run aground on the rocks, 
                         THEY LET DOWN FOUR ANCHORS
                      AND PRAYED FOR DAY TO COME!

There are lessons here for me:
1)  LET DOWN THE ANCHOR! 
In times of deep darkness it is far too easy to forget that
           We have a sure and steadfast anchor for the soul!
 Jesus has promised NEVER to leave or forsake us!  Isaiah 49 tells us that He has 'engraved' us on the palm of His hands.  We don't need to hold on for dear life...He holds ALL things together.  He will never let go! We need to rest in His promises and BELIEVE!

As people of faith we are children of Abraham.  He BELIEVED GOD and his faith was counted to him as righteousness.  Abraham fixed his eyes, not on his circumstances, but on the AUTHOR AND PERFECTOR of his faith!

Abraham believed in 'God, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist...' 

"In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations...he did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (he was almost 100!)...or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb."
 Abraham believed God for the impossible because God is God of the impossible!

2)  Pray for day to come!
I have been so guilty of resignation and discouragement!  In my life discouragement often results in prayerlessness.  I sometimes wonder if I have extended my time in the wilderness by my lack of prayer.  However long the night, dawn is coming!  Pray for day to come!

3)  Be Warned:  Dropping the Anchor Does not always prevent shipwreck!
For those who know 'the rest of the story,' Paul's ship wrecked anyway...BUT NO LIVES WERE LOST!  We were never promised a life free from trial and suffering, but we are guaranteed safe passage Home.  Christ's path to glory involved agonizing crucifixion...He was 'made perfect' through suffering.  I suspect God's method for perfecting us is the same,  but by faith we can join Job in his claim to victory:

"But He knows the way that I take;
when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold."
(Job 23:10)

Where to from here?  Only God knows.  One thing I do know...
                        "I know that my Redeemer lives,
                  and that He shall stand at the latter day 
                                        upon the earth."

                                                 Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.