A new year is here. We do not know what it will bring for us. All we know is that on January 1, 2018, another new dawn happened.
Some of us feel uneasy about our life, and even afraid. We may feel that life is an unending storm for us, and that we have no control over where the water and wind will take us.
Uncertainty is downright scary when we do not notice the anchors in our life. Of course, anchors in the form of other people are available. If we haven’t made use of them, why not?
Maybe self-pride has taken us over, and we consider only “our way,” until “our way” doesn’t work.
Maybe we have alienated family or friends through petty disagreements neither will forgive.
Maybe there are habits we have that we know are wrong, but we keep them up anyway, feeling guilty.
All these situations cause uncertainty, and are common to everyone at one time or another. But without an anchor, they can become unbearable, until we feel the words, Happy New Year, do not apply to us.
But hear this:
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.–Isaiah 43:2
These words are about the life-saving anchor we can all have in life–if we choose to grab onto it. The words do not mean that we will have no storms in our life, but that when we do, God’s anchor is available–many times through other human beings, especially those we are close to.
The anchor, because of the great importance in navigation, was regarded in ancient times as a symbol of safety. The Christians, therefore, in adopting the anchor as a symbol of hope in future existence, gave a new and higher signification to a familiar emblem. Just as an anchor secures a boat in rough waters, so does faith in Christ secure us, and indeed, becomes our safety net.
This is no more apparent than in marriage. But to achieve faith in God, and in another person, requires a certain amount of surrender:
Forgiving when we don’t want to forgive.
Realizing that we don’t know all the right answers.
Looking at our real self and what we are doing without making excuses for our wrong actions.
When we give up control of our life in favor of God’s plan–done His way, not ours–then we enter onto the road called: Trust. And what does Trust in God prove? It proves His faithfulness. I can certainly say that I’ve seen His faithfulness in my own life. And if you look upon your circumstances, whatever they are, with spiritual eyes, I’m sure you will see it, too, and know that you are not alone.
Translating a World on the Edge 