“…the hope set before us: which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.” Hebrews 6:18,19
There is a great hymn, written by P.J. Owens, the refrain of which goes like this: “We have an anchor that keeps the soul, Stedfast and sure while the billows roll, Fasten’d to the Rock which cannot move, Grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love.” Owens certainly is making reference to the text written above, where the author of the letter to the Hebrews speaks of a “hope.” Now, when we say this word, there are many and certainly differing meanings that we could attach to it. However, there is basically only one meaning that counts, and it is found in God’s perspective. So then, what does this Divine Hope mean, and how is it to be believed in, and incorportated into the life as one of the three greatest things, mentioned by the Apostle Paul: “Faith, Hope, and Love?
First of all, this “hope” is not of this world, like everything else that is of God. It’s concept and meaning were born in the heart of God, not in the mind of sinful man, for its characteristics and standards far exceed those of earth, and the failing nature of man to perfectly produce them. What then IS hope? According the Scriptures, it is something that is SET before us, something that IS an anchor of the soul, sure, and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil. What does this mean? God has set certain things before us, whether in very close proximity, or far away, which He declares are true, and will be seen and realized in His time. They are already realized in the heart of God, for He has declared them, and He is faithful and just to accomplish them. These things which He has set before us are revealed to us in the truths of Scripture, and the promises of God. They are as sure and true as God Himself, and just as eternal, since He has declared them, and He will do them. Why does God deal with man in this way, by revealing to him that which is true, and that for which he is to believe, expecting a realization of its accomplishment, whether immediately, or into the future? We forget that God, in His dealings with us, is always seeking to bring us into a deeper, and more consistent fellowship with Him. Why? This is the highest calling of God to man, to KNOW increasingly His Creater and Redeemer, to commune with Him, and to share the same life, that of Christ by the Spirit. By creating in the heart of man a hope, an anticipated result, or expectancy, knowing that God’s promises certainly are either realized already, and we do not see them as yet being so, or they will be seen realized in a future time, toward which we are going. It may be in the twinkling of an eye, that they shall be accomplished, or the result of one’s patient endurance.
Secondly, with regard to God giving hope, and His call to the believer to lay hold upon it, its certainty is in the Word of God. It is SET before us as the absolute truth of God in Christ. The believer already has this hope. Whether we realize the full extent of it or not, and its blessing in the life, will depend upon our knowledge of it, and the laiding hold upon it by faith, certain that God will work according to it. With regard to the believer, the author of Hebrews speaks of an event in the life of Christ, when He laid the eternal basis for close, near, fellowship with God, based upon his work on Calvary. Scripture declares that Christ, “…by His own blood entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” (9:12) Christ guarantees our access to the Father by His blood. Here is the anchor of the soul.
Dear Father, Make us stedfastly hope-filled. In Jesus’ name, Amen.