My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord
—Pastor George Van Alstine
Judy and I discovered a very inspiring Gospel song, entitled “My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord.” The lyrics, by Douglas Miller, obviously come from personal experience:
Though the storms keep on raging in my life,
and sometimes it’s hard to tell my night from day,
Still that hope that lies within is reassured,
as I keep my eyes upon the distant shore;
I know He’ll lead me safely to that
blessed place He has prepared.
But if the storms don’t cease,
and if the wind keeps on blowing,
My soul has been anchored in the Lord.
Sometimes God answers our prayers by calming the storm. But sometimes he allows the storm to continue, for reasons we can’t understand, and “the winds keep on blowing.” In those cases, he answers our prayers by keeping our hope-anchor secure.
The writer of these lyrics probably based his thoughts on this assurance from Hebrews 6:19:
“We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul.”
These words of encouragement were written to first century believers who were going through severe persecution, in some cases leading to violence and death. God did not promise to remove the persecution, but he reminded them that their hope-anchor was secure.
Our common usage of the word “hope” is pretty anemic. When we say we hope for something, we are implying a lot of doubt and insecurity. But in the Bible “hope” has a much more muscular meaning. It signifies solid confidence based on dependable true facts.
In the Hebrews passage where our quote is found, there are two profound reasons believers should have a confident hope. The first is seen in the verses before (13-18), which remind the oppressed people of the solemn promises God has made throughout the generations since Abraham. The second, found in the verses following (end of 19-20), builds on the finished work of Christ in redeeming his people and his current role as high priest on their behalf before the Father. So the believer’s hope-anchor is firmly attached to the proven history of God’s dedication to the redemption of lost humanity, from the promises made to Abraham to the ultimate victory in Jesus Christ.
As we go through life’s storms, may we always have this song in our hearts,
“My soul’s been anchored in the Lord.”