Phony Wizards

“God did this so that… we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.  We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.  It enters the inner sanctuary…” Hebrews 6:19-20.

The Wizard of Oz will always be one of my favorite movies of all times.  One of my favorite scenes is when Dorothy and company tentatively approach the curtain.  They all have deep desires for their lives that they hope the Wizard will grant.  They have heard the stories of the great and powerful Oz, and have come in expectation of certain things.  The journey there was hopeful and encouraging as they discussed the good that will come out of the pursuit.  Of course, the hope that was at the end of the yellow brick road was a false hope…no real wizard…no real gain.

We as Christians also have a hope that will hold firm and secure in Christ.  But many times, like Dorothy we approach our own false anchors thinking it will deliver.  For me, one of my false anchors was the belief that if I pleased everyone then I would be happy…FALSE.  Another one is that if I bought this purchase or that purchase then I would be content…FALSE.  One of the biggest falsehoods was that the closer I got to God the easier life would become…FALSE.  I expose these not to show my disappointment in things but to better understand things that don’t fit into my life anymore. 

When we think of hope we must default to the anchor Who holds firm and secure.  When we are heartbroken we have to reach for the Anchor of comfort.  When we have been hurt we must reach for the Anchor of forgiveness.  When we are anxious because of our circumstances we must trust in the Anchor of peace.  We must enter into the sacred places with God withholding nothing…the inner sanctuary…where God will replace those false anchors with His unchangeable, immovable and unstoppable faithfulness.  ‘In our broken worship, we tie our hope to false anchors – people or things that don’t have the strength to save us…Let God use the seasons of pain, struggle, and uncertainty to expose the false anchors.’ Steadfast Love, Lauren Chandler, p. 19. 

Adversity will continue to expose my false anchors and whatever is not of God will become unstable.  Adversity proves every time that the only true thing of which to take hold is Christ…He alone is our Anchor.  God has set our hope in Jesus before us but will we take hold of Him?

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Philippians 3:12.