The Anchor – A Symbol of Hope {Day 2 of Practicing Hope}
What are symbols we use for hope?
Every day in February we’ll look at a different activity for “Practicing Hope.” On Saturdays we’ll examine a different symbol that represents hope. And how we can use it to strengthen our hope.
The anchor is a very ancient symbol of hope because of its function. Normally made of metal and connected to a rope or chain, an anchor is what holds a ship in place by digging into the bed of the water under the ship. It prevents the ship from drifting, which would naturally occur due to wind or current.
A Christian believer’s hope, our anchor, is based on God’s faithfulness and goodness. His promise to take care of us won’t be broken. Regardless of the waves of life that beat against us, we have
“an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God” (Hebrews 6:19, Message).
The early Christians who were persecuted by the Romans drew anchors inside the catacombs, representing Christ as a symbol of safety. It’s said they also wore anchor jewelry or had anchor tattoos to identify themselves as Christians or to mark safe houses for those needing to escape from persecution.
In modern days we’ve often seen sailors and fishermen who have anchors tattooed on their forearms. Including the infamous Popeye.
As we sail through the remainder of the week, let’s put down our anchor to embed into the promises of God.
To Practice Hope
Envision a current storm in your life. Then connect a promise of God to help you stay the course. Anchor your hope there. Allow God’s faithfulness and goodness to hold you steady. (Find over 50 promises here.)
No matter how rough the storm, you won’t drown in it.
One of my favorite promises is found in Isaiah 43:2-3:
“When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end—
Because I am GOD, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you.”
Also, find your own spiritual analogies to anchors here in this 1-minute video of different types of anchors.
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Find the whole series here on Practicing Hope.
- Hope Is a Verb. Practice It. {28 Day Series}
- We Have an Anchor – Hebrews 6 {Day 3 of Practicing Hope}
I didn’t know about the anchors to represent the early Christians. How I love to learn new things. And I have a new outlook on the anchor tattoos!!!
Floyd, isn’t that fascinating? New to me, too. Look up peacocks; also symbolic to early Christians. Very interesting insights and applications.
Lisa, I love this, and somehow missed the start of the series. Just one behind though. 🙂 I see that 31 days has shifted to 28, from Oct. to Feb! This means a lot to me, b/c I’m not feelng much hope, and I am collecting some collage pieces, and almost threw out the anchor that I had squirreled away. Something (ahem!) told me to save it, and now I know why. I’ll use that anchor in a collage as a promise of Gods hope and as a reminder not to drift, which I have a real proclivity to do! I found the little video meaningful too!! Thank you. My take-away? There are different types of anchors. But which will I use and on which will I rely? The anchor of hope in Hope, Himself: Jesus! I love this second verse (and frankly, all of them) from the hymn, “Christ the Solid Rock.”
#2. When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
I thought you might appreciate that, and here is a link to all verses. Would be fun to listen to too and to sing on your own! I thnk this is a great hymn for living and for dying. Will add it to my funeral program, that I am always tweaking! 🙂
Love you, and thank you for some much-needed hope! Wow, amazing! And I just realized (where is my head?!), that I had prayed to God before reading His Word today to give me hope. Oh my goodness, now, tears! This…. your beautiful post, is my reminder. Oh my word, I can’t thank you enough, Lisa!!!!!!!!!
http://lutheran-hymnal.com/lyrics/tlh370.htm
love
Lynn
You made my day, Lynn. I love seeing how God intersects our paths with what we need each day. Manna!
And I’d been thinking about that hymn but couldn’t remember all the words, so thank you so much for including lyrics and the link! Another God-thing.
My sister has a funeral song list too so I appreciate that 🙂
Tell your sister she is on target–not a maudlin thing at all, but a favor to her family; plus (and presuming everyone follows her wishes) a way to make a final statement when she is already in heaven! Not rushing her whatever!! 🙂 And how wonderful that God gave us each a msg for the other, and supplied the answer to your request. Manna. Feast. God!
xo
L
Seeing those anchors on ships they are strong enough to steady it or hold it in place, Jesus is strong enough in any storm.