Hold On: Finding Your Anchor in Uncertain Times

In a world constantly pulling us in different directions, we face a critical question: What are we holding onto? Without realizing it, we often grip tightly to things that were never meant to anchor our souls. Jobs, relationships, possessions, comfort, control—these can subtly become the foundations we build our lives upon. But when storms come, and they always do, we discover whether our foundation can withstand the pressure.

The real danger isn't always obvious. We can appear to be running in all the right directions, surrounding ourselves with the right people, attending the right gatherings, saying the right words. Yet our hearts can remain far from God. We know what we should do, but we don't do it. We develop what Scripture warns against: a divided heart.

The Warning of Lot's Wife

The Bible gives us a sobering reminder in just three words: "Remember Lot's wife." She lived in Sodom and Gomorrah, cities so consumed by godlessness that divine judgment was imminent. When angels warned her family to flee and never look back, she ran with the godly people. Everything appeared fine until she reached the hilltop and turned for one last longing look at what she was leaving behind.

That glance revealed where her heart truly resided. She was turned into a pillar of salt, a monument to divided loyalty that remains in that region to this day—a woman running with the righteous but longing for the world she left behind.

This ancient story mirrors our contemporary struggle. Are we running toward God while our hearts secretly cling to the very things destroying us? The question isn't whether we attend church or know the right spiritual language. The question is: Where does our heart truly rest?

Building Confidence Through God's Word

Hebrews 10:23 instructs us to "hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." This steadfastness doesn't come from our own strength or determination. It flows from hiding God's Word in our hearts.

Psalm 119:11 declares, "Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you." When trouble arrives at our doorstep demanding entrance, what will it encounter inside? If we've filled our hearts with God's promises, His character, His faithfulness, those truths rise up to combat the lies and fears that seek to overwhelm us.

King David understood this reality. In Psalm 94:18-19, he wrote: "When I said my foot is slipping, your unfailing love supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy." Notice the pattern: David acknowledged the struggle but immediately declared God's response. He didn't camp out in the problem. He moved through it by remembering who God is.

This isn't denial or toxic positivity. It's spiritual warfare. It's choosing to speak God's truth louder than the circumstance screams its threats.

The Song of Deliverance

In Psalm 18, David sang a song of praise after God delivered him from his enemies. His words paint a powerful picture of what happens when we call on the Lord in our distress:

"The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."

David didn't minimize his troubles. He described them vividly: "The cords of death entangled me. The torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me. The snares of death confronted me."

But he didn't end there. "In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears."

This is the pattern for victorious living: acknowledge the reality, but don't stop speaking until you've declared who God is in that reality. Imagine if David's declaration became your automatic response to trouble. What if those words were so embedded in your heart that they rose to your lips before fear could take hold?

Coming to Your Senses

The story of the prodigal son contains a pivotal moment captured in one phrase: "When he came to his senses." This young man had demanded his inheritance early, squandered it on reckless living, and found himself feeding pigs and eating their food just to survive.

His transformation began when he remembered who his father was and what life in his father's house looked like. He had to come to his senses—to wake up from the delusion that life apart from his father was freedom.

Some of us need that same awakening. We've wandered from the presence of the Lord, and we need to come back to our senses. The good news? The Father is waiting with open arms, not with a list of requirements for restoration, but with love that lavishes grace on returning children.

The Anchor for Your Soul

Hebrews 6:19 offers this beautiful promise: "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."

An anchor doesn't prevent a ship from experiencing storms. It keeps the ship from drifting away during the storm. When waves crash and winds howl, the anchor holds the vessel in place.

Are you taking time in a quiet place to let your soul get anchored in Christ? Or are you letting the world beat you down, toss you around, and leave you exhausted and directionless?

The call is to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. But that strength comes from the secret place, the quiet moments where we allow God's presence to regenerate our spirits and remind us of His faithfulness.

The Power at Work Within You

Ephesians 3:20-21 declares that God "is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think according to his power that is at work within us." The possibilities before us are endless when we're connected to infinite power.

Yet sometimes we don't know what to do with all God has made available. We misuse His gifts or ignore His provision because we can't comprehend the magnitude of what He offers.

God has so much for us: power to overcome, endurance to press on, joy that becomes our strength, victory in every trial. The question is whether we'll take hold of it or keep clinging to lesser things.

What Will You Hold Onto?

Psalm 34 reminds us: "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him."

When you love and serve the Lord, trusting Him through every trial, His presence surrounds you in ways you cannot see. Angels encamp around you. Divine protection covers you. Supernatural provision meets you.

You may have thought you had lack when you woke up this morning, but in Jesus' name, there is no lack. Everything you need is found in Him.

So hold on—not to your plans, your comfort, your control, or your understanding. Hold on to the Savior who never fails, never wavers, and never lets go. In His grip, you are secure. In His presence, you are complete. In His love, you lack nothing.

The storms will come. The struggles will arise. But when you're anchored in Christ, you will not drift away. Hold on to Him, and discover that He's been holding you all along.