We want to pause a moment and just share a little Jesus together. Yes, we have tips and suggestions about partnership development amid the current coronavirus situation; however, all of our action must stem from our foundation in Christ. So, grab a mug of tea or a cup of coffee and let’s sit with the Lord of All for a little bit.
“We have this certain hope like a strong, unbreakable anchor holding our souls to God himself. Our anchor of hope is fastened to the mercy seat which sits in the heavenly realm beyond the sacred threshold, and where Jesus, our forerunner, has gone in before us. He is now and forever our royal Priest like Melchizedek.” Heb. 6:19-20. Our priest is the Jesus of Matthew 8:27, “The men marveled saying, ‘What sort of man is this that even the wind and seas obey him!’”
In these unstable days when our circumstances and stability are challenged almost hourly, we need a strong, unbreakable anchor for our souls. God is that anchor. Connection to Him is our only hope. One thing is for sure, He is in control.
As we navigate the storm of the COVID-19 virus, a shaky economy, social distancing and quarantine, we can hold tight to His promises. He promises to never leave us or forsake us, He is our protector, He is our strength when we are weak, He is our Shepherd, He longs to hear our prayers, and He loves us.
His love for us is something consistent to hold on to, it will hold you tight when you are confused, lonely and uncertain. Life is full of stormy seas. In scripture we are reminded constantly that trials will come. We are also told what to do when they come and how Jesus’ example is our lifeline.
When I was a little girl we lived on Lake Erie in Ohio. My family loved boating and spending time together on the lake. One trip is forever etched into my mind. It was my dad’s birthday and our neighbors wanted to celebrate. They had just gotten a new boat and thought it would be a perfect time to go try it out. My parents, brother and our neighbors set out for an adventure and a day of celebrating with a crew of eight people.
I was home sick with my grandma and was unable to go. I was so sad and disappointed. They spent the entire day on the water. Skiing, fishing and swimming. Not paying attention to the shoreline and trusting completely on their compass, a day of fun soon led to a terrible situation. What they didn’t know was the compass on the new boat had not been properly calibrated and they had unknowingly gone in the wrong direction. Their trust had been placed in something that was not secure, something faulty.
My dad and his friend understood the depth of Lake Erie, the heights of the waves, the temperature of the water and typically how many hours they had before they needed to refuel. If on course, it would have been easy to refuel and be on their way. With land not in sight, they decided to set their anchor to determine where they were. As they let go of the anchor, all of the rope went quickly down never reaching the bottom of the lake. They began to drift. The anchor never caught a firm hold. They knew at this point they were in waters they had never encountered before. Trying to head back home, soon they ran out of fuel.
Unprepared and caught off guard: no food, no water, no warm clothes, now no fuel. Night was quickly coming, as was a storm. My brother said, “Dad, the sun sets in the west!” leading them to discover how off course they were. As it got dark and the storm began to rage, the water started slapping the boat and everyone began to panic and get sea sick; except my mom, brother and dad. They baled water and held on to the others as they got sick. My dad knew cryptography and put my brother on the horn of the boat sending SOS signals for help. No one answered, no one came to help.
When they did not return home, my grandma called the coast guard. We prayed together in hopes that they would be found. 24 hours went by and still no word or sighting of the lost boat. The coastguard decided that their boat must have capsized in the storm and no one survived. My grandma and I continued to pray and believed that the Lord would make a way. The Lord heard our prayers. After 32 hours, a Canadian freight liner heard their SOS signals and caught sight of them. They towed them to safety. Upon reaching the shore they were told they had drifted 3 hours from home.
This story reminds me of the current situation we find ourselves in. These are uncertain days. A sweet reminder of Who we can turn to in the storm. Setting our anchor on solid ground (JESUS) is where our hope lies. It’s easy to get into dangerous water/situations, to get off course and lose our way when we take our eyes off of Him. Our security drifts from the solid Rock and is found in tangible items we feel we need for survival, we panic and we don’t listen to our authorities or make sound decisions. Pride and self-righteousness sets in and we become uncalibrated just like that compass on our neighbor’s boat. We cast our anchor on shifting sand and lose our way. We drift.
Our prayers are with you as you tread new water in this season. There are a lot of uncertainties and the storm is raging; however, one thing is for sure: we have a steady anchor who cares for us, who loves us and is our hope for the future. With Jesus as our hope, our foundation is secure. He cannot and will not be shaken. We are safe and secure in our Father’s love.
