In these last minutes of these last days, one thing the Lord has impressed upon me is the need for Faith, true Faith. I'm not talking about just believing He exists, but a faith in all His promises and in His Word. Lately, the attacks have come hard and fast from the enemy. I recently told a friend that this is the worst year I've had in my life. And that's saying much! Some of the attacks are from loved ones, but the majority are from our enemy who loves to taunt and torture us. For me, it's always the lie, mixed with half-truths, along with the accusations and condemnations. When the attacks come at me from all directions... I end up feeling adrift at sea!
Do you ever feel like you're adrift at sea without even an oar to steer your way?? Sometimes life throws wave after wave at you. Problems surround you, pushing and shoving you, moving you off course, and even spitting in your boat and getting you all wet! At those times, it seems like you'll never get out of the storm, like the waves will never settle. And you wonder what God is up to. Where is He? You can't seem to see him through all the dark clouds!
What you need is an anchor. If only you had a huge, sturdy anchor, you could toss it in the water and be sure that no matter how big the waves got, your ship would not move. You would not be carried away with each storm that comes by and left lost, alone and dripping wet on some foreign shore, or worse, in the middle of the sea!
As the half-brother of Jesus, James was no doubt was very acquainted with storms. His first real storm came when he realized how wrong he had been about his own brother after Jesus's resurrection. Can you imagine both the shame and the elation? After that, he joined the believers in Jerusalem and became a prominent figure praised by both Peter and Paul. James devoted his life to serving the church and enduring much persecution and according to the historian at the time, Josephus, James was condemned to death by the High Priest, tossed off the upper wing of the temple, and then stoned to death.
In James's only letter in the Bible, he starts off by telling us that we should consider trials and troubles as pure joy for they strengthen our faith and build our endurance. He then goes on to say:
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But
when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not
waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of
the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. James 1:5-8 (NLV)
Obviously James knew what it felt like to be adrift at sea tossed to and fro by the winds. His answer? Seek God. And when you do, believe He will help you. Believe He will answer you. But how many of us ask God, sorta kinda believe He might help us, but then we rush around and try to fix our problems ourselves? Now, there's nothing wrong with taking action against a problem as long as that's what God is telling you to do. But it is wrong to ask God for help and then run off and do something He has not told you to do.
God is handing you an iron anchor, and you are sitting in your boat making one out of straw! But, you may say, "I don't hear from God and I have to do something!" Believe me, I have felt the same way. I understand. But what I've learned over the years is that God is speaking to me all the time. I simply need to stop and listen and then move where God leads me, checking with Him all along the way. He knows your heart. He knows what you need. He knows whether you sincerely want to hear from Him and do His will or you're just playing the Christian game. He will not lead you astray. This is His Anchor:his unchanging, reliable, loving character.
Paul talks about this anchor in Hebrews.
Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Hebrews 6:17-20 (NIV)
The anchor is Hope. Hope that springs from the knowledge of and trust in the character of God. That He is who He says He is and He will do what He says He'll do. When we take a hold of that anchor of Hope, we can ask God for help and know without a doubt He will answer. His answer will be according to His plans and purposes and for our good and His glory. It may not be what we wanted, but it will be perfect in the end. That's where our anchor of Hope is grounded. In God's character. In both His goodness and His power. James understood this.
Eusebius, a fourth-century church historian states that after James's conviction, the scribes and Pharisees took him to a public place,
the top of a wing of the temple, and "demanded that he should renounce
the faith of Christ before all the people . . ." But, rather than deny
Jesus, James "declared himself fully before the whole multitude, and
confessed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, our Savior and Lord".
Hegesippus tells us that at this point "they went up and threw down the
just man [from the temple height], and said to each other, 'Let us stone
James the Just.'And they began to stone him, for he was not killed by
the fall, but he knelt down and said, 'I entreat thee, Lord God our
Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do' [thus following
his brother's example to the last]. One of them, who was a fuller, took
the club with which he beat out clothes and struck the just man on the
head. And thus he suffered martyrdom"
This from a man who doubted Jesus was the Messiah until after He rose from the dead. Amazing. His anchor was NOT in this world, not in money, fame, success, family, health, or even happiness. His Anchor was Hope grounded in the unchanging goodness, love, and power of God!
During these frightening times, I pray we will all be like James and have the kind of faith that pleases our Lord, the kind of faith that says, "I believe you are who you say you are and that nothing is impossible for you!"
