Translating a World on the Edge

Today in America, some of us feel uneasy about our life. We see the so-called ‘cancel culture’ movement biting away at our mores and manners, our literature and history, our principles and even our God.

We see our leaders encouraging open borders, allowing our country to be overrun with illegal aliens–and worse, the innocent children of those illegal aliens being treated as political tools, not as children of God.

We see the attempt to demolish even our gender –a man is not a man, a woman is not a woman– even though God Almighty created them as such.

We see businesses closed, gas prices running higher and higher, entire job segments being lost. We see a hypocritical governing body acting as the worst bully we’ve ever come across.

We see an adolescent-acting president, speaker and their cronies (though all are well past the age of adolescence) attempting to ruin the very soul of America and to re-frame our country’s Constitution, as well as to re-frame conservative American people in the worst possible light.

We see our ANCHORS being removed.

And we are afraid. We may feel that life in America has become 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?

We must begin with strengthening ourselves, because in the long-run we are responsible for our personal actions in any situation.

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, You Are Loved, 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 there are not horrible attempts to change our country for the worst, or 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.

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.
And then asking God to lead us, and TRUST that He will.

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 the distresses of 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.