Anchored

“Hold the line” I heard God say earlier this year. When I looked up the phrase it means “not yield to the pressure of a difficult situation”, “keep the line open (telephone)”, or “firmly uphold a certain position”. The phrase can be used to allude to military tactics in which a line of troops holds their positions to prevent enemy breakthrough. It is about holding steady in the moment, not being swayed by circumstances, not changing one’s viewpoint, position, principles or plans according to what has changed around us.

In the world in which we live and in the circumstances in which many of us find ourselves, it is important to hold the line, to hold steady and not be that one who is uncertain where his loyalty lies, uncertain what to hold on to.  James 1:6 tells us:

for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

Thinking about the phrase “hold the line”, I am reminded of the anchor line which holds ships steady in a storm. The line we hold on to cannot be some nebulous thing which is not attached to anything of substance, a kind of Pollyanna hope that everything will turn out OK because that’s what we would like it to do. It has to be solidly attached. Where I place my faith, who and what I am holding onto, has a lot to do with my ability to “hold the line”. If my stability is in money in the bank, politicians, my job, my family, or anything else that is changeable, then my peace is prone to fluctuations.

It is good to know that the anchor that is holding me is attached at both ends. Isaiah 41:10 reminds us that we are not the only ones holding on tightly!

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed! For I am your God; I will strengthen you! I will help you! I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

We have a Heavenly Father who has invested so much in this relationship and as so many of his promises throughout scripture tell us, he will not give up on us, will not leave us, will not let us go. He does not take his promises to us lightly. He is committed, with a capital ‘C’, a covenant-keeping God. In our world of easily broken promises, of commitments made and broken so quickly, we don’t really have a concept of the fact that he has made a covenant with us, a promise, that he will never ever break. Psalm 94:14 says:

For the Lord will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage.

As we learn more and more about the character and faithfulness of our Heavenly Father, our part is to stay attached at our end, as Hebrews 6:19 says, holding fast to the

… sure and steadfast anchor of the soul …

Our trust is in his character, in the fact that he keeps his promises, that he does not lie, that he is good.  Difficult situations often squeeze us to turn back to our own resources, to look to what we have in our hands or hustle for what we can achieve but God is so much bigger.  

As I read my bible one day this week I was thinking about not only clinging on by the skin of my teeth but actually accessing the more that is available. I don’t want to come through this season having survived and escaped but to come out the other end having survived and grown. In the story of the blind beggar in Mark 10, Jesus asked him:

What do you want me to do for you?

The beggar could have said, “Have you got any spare change?” That was his day in and day out normality. He was used to that life. He was known as a beggar, that was his identity. He wore the clothes of a beggar. But he had heard of this rabbi, he had heard that there was more. So he answered, with an audacious faith, requesting the restoration of his sight. I wonder how often I settle for some spare change when I could have sight, when I could have a real life transformation.

This beggar, when Jesus called, threw off the clothes he had been sitting in, the cloak that identified him as a beggar and went to Jesus full of faith and expectation, full of hope. We can have hope, we can hold the line with the perseverance of blind Bartimaeus who would not be silenced, trusting in our wonderful Heavenly Father, trusting in our Saviour to bring about transformation. As I look back at that definition, not only did he not yield to the pressure of those around him, or any inner doubts and fears in the moment, he also held to that position of ‘I will not be silent, I will keep calling on Jesus, I will seize this moment and put my trust in him and who he is.’ Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us

Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, and He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way].

Throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites constantly wavered to and fro, trusting God then not trusting God. One minute celebrating the victory at the Red Sea and how he rescued them from the Egyptians and in the next minute bewailing the fact they thought they would die in the desert. We are no different, I think, which is why we need to remember, to remind ourselves of previous victories, in order to help us hold on in this current situation. He is the same God. He is unchanging. Romans 8:32 reminds us:

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

God in many verses tells us to keep our eyes fixed on him and in fact warns us not to put our trust in what man, what the world can offer.  ‘Egypt’, is sometimes used as a kind of picture of ‘the world’ and so in Isaiah 31:1 God warns:

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord!

I wonder what ‘going down to Egypt’ looks like for you. At this time, I have days when “holding the line” seems easy and I am full of peace and then the next temptation comes. There have been things that look shiny and like an amazing ‘rescue’ from the situation but in fact are a distraction, like possible jobs that God has not asked me to apply for. There have been temptations to ‘solve’ the issue myself. One of my resulting thoughts around is that I need to change my perspective of this situation I am in. It is not a situation that needs solving. It is a particular part of the transition journey. I don’t want to be so focussed on where I am going that I miss the gems that are in this moment, in my rush to arrive at the next destination. Jesus said “I am the Way” so the journey matters (although I do appreciate that in one sense he is also the destination!).

The phrase “a line of troops” is key. This is not a solitary journey. Holding the line comes in the context of my position within the body too. How I respond in this season has a corporate impact too. If I get out of line, it will ultimately have an effect on those around me, just as holding my position has an impact, even when I don’t see it.

Also, I need the body of Christ around me to help me discern when I am wavering, when a course of action is faith-filled and when it is actually motivated by fear or I am deceiving myself. I don’t want the ‘woe’ that comes from looking to Egypt for my help. I want to get the most from this adventure and not settle for the “spare change”. I want to learn to trust, to hold the line and stay anchored in the storm. And so there are some days, like today when I am just not sure, when “Consulting the Lord” can look like contacting a friend and saying, “This is what I am considering, what do you think, can you pray with me?”

The position I want to ‘uphold firmly’ is one where I put my whole heart, soul, mind and strength into this; one where he has my full trust. I know it is a journey to that fullness of trusting but the position I am holding is I am facing towards trust … and praying ‘Jesus help me’!