When Faith Falters

*This article originally ran in the local Hillsdale Daily News

As a pastor I have the opportunity to talk with people about their faith. I have spoken with those whose faith is strong. I also have the privilege of speaking with those who are struggling with their faith. Whether we like it or not, at some point in our lives we will all face difficult challenges. For some, challenges will come early in life, growing up in a difficult situation. For others it might come later, dealing with sickness and age. For all of us, we will face temptation and suffering in this life. It is easy to wonder why these things happen.

It is easy to question whether God is really in control and whether our faith means anything at all. The truth is that we cannot always know why things happen the way they do. The Bible tells us that no purpose of God’s can be thwarted (Job 42:2). The Bible also tells us that God is working all things together for good to those who love him and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

How do we handle these difficult times? What we need in these times is not a quick “How to Have a Happy Life” message. What we need to know in the midst of our struggles is that there is something more secure than our daily ups and downs. We need an anchor to keep us secure the midst of the storms of life. The Bible describes that anchor in the book of Hebrews.

In Hebrews 6:19-20, “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf.

The anchor is referring back to earlier in the book – to Jesus – where he is described as being designated by God a high priest. The Old Testament priest served as the one who went between God and man. The ‘inner place behind the curtain’ refers to heaven where Christ ascended after his resurrection (Acts 1:9). Jesus’ entrance into the heavenly temple is the guarantee of our salvation.

The way that this is explained is rather interesting. First, the word ‘anchor’ is a familiar one to us – it refers to a heavy device to hold a ship in place. In the early church, the anchor became a symbol for safety, security and hope. It has been found on the walls of Roman catacombs where Christians would be buried.

This anchor, mentioned here, is unusual though because, rather than going down, it goes up. But that makes sense because Jesus is the one who has secured our salvation – he is the anchor of our hope. This is shown to us by the use of the word ‘forerunner’. The word can carry simply the idea of someone who has gone before. Christ went to heaven before us. But, the fact that the word ‘anchor’ is used here…I think that there is something else meant by Christ as the forerunner.

You see, this is the only time that this word is used in the whole New Testament. However, it is a word used in other works in the Greek language to describe a small ship that goes ahead of a larger vessel. The way it would work is like this: when a ship wanted to come in to the harbor but it was not yet time – often due to tide or approaching storms – a forerunner would go ahead of the vessel, carrying the anchor for the ship. The forerunner would go safely into the harbor and secure the anchor for the ship, guaranteeing its safety during the storm. The ship could not be dragged away by the storm because the anchor was already set.

This is the picture we have here. Regardless of the storms in our lives and regardless of how long it will be before we reach the safe harbor of God’s rest – our anchor is secure.

What is needed when a marriage falls apart or a child rebels is not some quick ‘how to’ manual. What you need is faith in Jesus. One thing that makes this image all the more important is because it does mean that storms will come. We all know that we face doubts and trials to our faith. Storms come. Our hope is not that things will be perfect, in this life, but that our salvation is secure in the midst of our struggles.