Anchored Firmly By His Word

   "Are you ready? What for? That you may move and be moved by the mighty power of God that cannot be moved and so chastened and built up till you are in the place, it doesn’t matter where the wind blows or difficulty comes, you are fixed in God.

   Are you ready? What for? To come into the plan of the Most High God, believing what the Scripture says, and holding fast that which is good, believing so that no man shall take your crown."    --Smith Wigglesworth  

  "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed."  James 1:6

Doubt is the opposite of faith.  

James is speaking to the people in James 1:5 telling them to ask God if they lack wisdom.  He was talking to people struggling with how to go through trials, and he tells them these trials test their faith (notice he did not say God caused the trials.)

It is in the middle of difficulty we can become unsure and lose sight of who God is and His Word.  We may be tempted not to trust Him, rely on Him, and we forget He is a PRESENT and ACTIVE God.

Photo Credit:  Joy Neasley

James describes doubt as being "like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind."  

This sounds like a ship that is not anchored.

An anchor prevents a ship from drifting away due to the water currents or tide.  Therefore, the ship aimlessly is tossed to and fro with no direction or guidance, and it is influenced by the circumstances around it (the wind, the current, the weather).  

In difficult situations we can lose focus and let our anchor (God) go.  We may even struggle with whether faith still works.  As doubt enters, it replaces faith and we become influenced by everything around us rather than what we know as truth.  

We must walk by faith, not by sight.  Stay anchored tightly to Him, trusting His Word is True and that He is ever present.  

Researching how an anchor works, I discovered the anchor itself is only part of what keeps the ship from drifting aimlessly, securing the ship.   

  

When anchored, the ship lays the anchor together with a length of its iron cables on the seabed.  The length to be released is determined by many factors (the situation and circumstances surrounding the ship).  

It is not the weight of the anchor, but the weight of the huge iron cables connected to the anchor that "secures" the ship.  The anchor plays a very important role in grounding the cables, and hooking the cables to the seabed, but the usage of the proper length of iron cables plays an equally important role.

God's Word and the Holy Spirit are the iron cables that keep us connected to the anchor.  John 8:32 tells us that it is the Truth that we know that makes us free.  

Photo Credit:  unknown

We can anchor to God and trust Him, but if we do not know who we are IN CHRIST through His Word, we cannot stand on the promises of God during troubling times of difficulty.  If we are to walk by faith, not by sight then we must know what faith is through His Word.  

A ship properly anchored is held to a circular area surrounding the anchor by way of the iron cables.  The radius we circle around the anchor is determined by the length of the cable released.  

God's Word keeps us focused with our eyes on Him during potentially stressful situations.  It ties us to Him, and keeps us circling around Him, unable to drift too far away.