Soul Anchor
By Margaret Cook, M.Ed., Licensed Professional Counselor, Life Coach
We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It's an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6: 18 – 20 The Message)
The winds of adversity are harsh teachers for those of us who have had a fairly comfortable life. Like you, when I experience suffering, I am quick to call out for relief, help and deliverance. As I witness the suffering of others I am driven to pray and seek help for everyone in need. It seems there is a lot that needs prayer lately.
What do people without faith do? I sometimes have the opportunity to talk with people in need who are unwilling to turn to God. I pray all the more for them. I remind the Lord of the hope for crumbs that the Canaanite woman expressed to Jesus in Matthew 15:27. I ask God to begin to shape faith and trust in the lives of people that I pray for, even when they claim they cannot believe in Christ. I am intrigued that many people in this predicament seem to seek me out and ask me if I would pray for them. I count that a sacred opportunity.
In the testing of my own faith, I have become more dependent on God. I am quicker to call out, but also quicker to listen for his word to us. In a recent time of prayer for someone dear, the Lord asked me to completely surrender my “agenda” for the outcome. Sometimes in praying specifically I seem to get carried away with how I want things to turn out. As I reluctantly trusted God with the entire need, I felt the peace that surpasses all understanding. I knew that my soul was anchored in this storm. I was reminded that God has always been faithful to me – even when I was not faithful. My hope is secure in the living God, and I have not been moved away from him through trials. Instead I have grown closer and more sure of the character of Christ in every life experience.
As we pray one for another amid all of the changes and challenges life brings to us, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,” Ephesians 1:18 (NIV) May your soul be securely anchored in Christ and may your hope in him be a source of comfort and light for the world.
God, please anchor our souls in Christ. Do not let us be tossed by adversity into perilous fate. Redeem us and those for whom we intercede not for the sake of humanity, but for the cause which he bled and died. Fulfill Jesus’ purpose in us so that we would be able to trust you, know you in this life and find our way through him to you for all eternity. Be with us Holy Spirit and teach us the Word of life that we might pray and serve God’s will alone. Amen.
Consider listening to the song, Soul Anchor by Michael Card
Copyright © November 2008 – Margaret Cook. All rights reserved.
Permission to use or duplicate this article is available by contacting the author at
Back to Articles Main Page : : : : Back to Articles Sorted By Writer : : : : Back to Articles Sorted by Title
|
