Our first Promise is found in Hebrews 6:19: “which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.”
One of the definitions of the word “anchor” is “a reliable support.” So if we have an Anchor of the soul, we have a support that will not fail us in time of need. A ship could not get along without an “anchor”, and neither can we. But, whereas an earthly anchor might possibly fail, and the ship could not be held in the position the captain wishes it to be, our Anchor will never fail. Of course if we fail to use it, the Anchor can be of no help to us. But Christ can and does keep a firm hold upon us if we permit Him to do so, and He will keep us in the position He wishes us to be. We may feel sometimes that we are just drifting along, but if we are one of God’s faithful children we need never drift. This Scripture tells us that OUR Anchor is “sure and steadfast”. It will never let us go, the only way we can drift is for us to let go of the Anchor.
Our hope is an anchor which “enters into that within the veil”. This seems to imply that our hope rests in the promises of Christ who is “within the veil” at the present time. We do not see Him, but He is there and the faithful ones know that He is there. He will not always be “within the veil”. He will reveal Himself in due time. Our hopes will be realized when He comes. But in the meantime, let us hold fast to this “Anchor of our soul.”
Our second promise is found in Hebrews 10:35: “cast not away your confidence which hath great recompense of reward.”
Do we sometimes in times of great stress cast away our confidence in the Lord and the precious promises He has given us? Perhaps we cannot see the need or the justice of some terrible trial that overtakes us. But let us remember that God never tries us unless we need it, either as a reprimand for something we have done or have not done, or as something that will in the end strengthen us and help us build up our characters to be worthy to receive the great reward that God has in store for the faithful. What is this great reward? It is being members of the body of Christ, and, as such, to help in the work of bringing to God the worthy ones remaining on the earth, to heal sickness, raise the dead, and to wipe all tears away. This will mean everything to those who will become members of Christ’s body. It will be wonderful to have a spiritual body, to have no more pain, no more grief, and never to die again, but our chief blessing will be our ability to do what we have always wanted to do, help the sick and weary, take the bed-ridden by the hand and say: “In the name of Christ, arise.” To do the works that Jesus did, that is worth all the trials and afflictions that may beset us. How often have we stood in a hospital room and wished with everything in us that we could help the ones suffering there. Just think! We will be able to do that some day if we are a member of Christ’s body. But we must not cast away our confidence, no matter how severe the trials, or we will never experience that great glory. This confidence, says the Scripture, will have Great recompense of reward.
Our third Promise is found in Hebrews 12:6, 7, 11: “For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”
So if we are not chastened then God has not received us as sons. Our earthly fathers chasten us, an evil which sometimes brings about the greatest good. It keeps us from doing those things which we should not, and so works out the peaceable fruit of righteousness in our mature lives. We may not have seen the necessity of this when we were children, but, afterwards, when looking back, we could be thankful that our parents thought enough of us to keep us from further evil by chastising us. And so it is with God. We will be able to look back and see that our trials were for our best good. If we are not being chastened, let us examine ourselves to see if we are listless, failing to live up to the best in us, and start in this new year to work more steadfastly in the Father’s vineyard.
Our fourth promise is found in Hebrews 1:14: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”
Here is more help for us, very definite help. We remember how Elisha was surrounded by a great army and how frightened his servant was when he asked Elisha what they were going to do (2nd Kings 6:14-17). Elisha asked God to open his servant’s eyes, and when they were opened he saw horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. They that be with us”, said Elisha, “are more than they that be with them.” And so it is with us. God does not literally open our eyes today that we may see the ministering spirits about it, but by faith, we know they are there, always protecting and helping us. With all the assurance that we have of God’s love and protection, why are we still afraid? We are afraid of sickness, loneliness, financial troubles, death, the lack of someone to take care of us in our time of need. As some of us may see it at some time in our lives, there is no one close to us to look after and take care of us, but if God is looking after us and the angels are ministering to us, someone will be provided when the time comes. (See Isaiah 46:4).
Loneliness may take its toll of strength from us, but it is not necessary for it to do so. There are always people in the world far worse off than we are, in hospitals, rest homes, etc. We have a measure Jf health and strength, why not go out and comfort and care for them? If we do that, we will never be lonely. Why worry about financial lack? Perhaps we do not have all the resources we would like and could use, but, with literally thousands of people without food and shelter, why should we complain if we have enough of this world’s goods to meet our needs?
There is, of course, no one, unless he is very ill indeed and suffering greatly who really wishes to die. But, knowing the Truth, that death is but a sleep until Christ comes, should we be in such dread of it? We might not welcome it, but we need not be afraid of it, if we are truly Christ’s. These angelic, ministering spirits can watch over us in life or death much more closely than any human being could. They are always there, and we might be surprised at how often they have kept us from physical injury or from some evil that might have befallen us.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One