The Incarnation Of Hope

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us.
–Hebrews 6:19-20

As Christians, ultimately our hope is not in a belief. It is not in a doctrine, and it is not in a set of ideas. Our hope is grounded in a person, Jesus Christ. Hebrews 6:19-20 says, “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever.”

Hope is built on God’s promise and God’s oath. Jesus is the embodiment of both. He is the incarnation of God’s ultimate promise to us. It is Jesus who said, “I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2-3). Jesus is the incarnation of God’s promise. He is the incarnation of God’s oath.

In Hebrews 6:19, Jesus is not only referred to as an anchor, but He is also referred to as our forerunner. In first-century Mediterranean ports, when a ship was entering into the harbor toward its destination, the final moments of the ship’s journey were the most dangerous because in the harbor of every Mediterranean port there were rocks. The great danger was that a gust of wind would push the ship onto the rocks where it would crash. So to prevent that from happening, while a ship was still outside the harbor, one of the crew members would get into a smaller vessel. That crew member was called the forerunner. He would take a line attached to the ship and go in that little boat into the harbor. He would attach that line to a large, immovable rock embedded in the harbor. That rock was called the anchor rock. Today we think of an anchor as a piece of iron you drop in the water to hold a ship in place. But in the New Testament, the anchor rock was used to guide the ship. Once the forerunner had attached the line to the anchor rock, then the ship could be pulled safely through the narrow opening, avoiding the rocks and making it safely to its destination.

The writer said Jesus is, first of all, our forerunner. He has gone ahead of us. He has gone through the clouds–through the veil, so to speak–and He is in Heaven right now. He went before us. But He is not only the forerunner; He is our anchor. If we are in Christ, then we are attached to Jesus. He has attached Himself to us, and while we are living in this world, He is safely guiding us through the dangerous and treacherous circumstances that might cause us to shipwreck. He guides us carefully through the dangers of this world until we reach the other side safely. Isn’t that a great word picture? That is why we can say with confidence: Jesus is God’s anchor for us in life’s storms.

Today’s devotion is excerpted from “God’s Anchor In Life’s Storms” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2018.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.