Psalm 34:19. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.
Come on down friends to the Lord’s sanctuary; it’s Sunday, the first one in the Lenten season, and hopefully the precipitations of snow and freezing rain won’t stop us from fellowshipping with each other, praising the Lord and giving Him much thanks for all the good things He’s done, is doing and has promised to do on our behalf. And all God’s children said a loud and grateful; ‘Thank You Lord!’
And today’s song of worship is one of strong faith, birthed in the painful sorrows of real life. The name of the song is ‘The Anchor Holds.’ And does it ever, when Jesus is the one who’s controlling it! The story behind the song goes something like this: It was 1992, and the writer of the song, Lawrence Chewning and his wife, were going through a stormy period of life. His father died, He was a burned-out pastor in a church that was having some problems, and then his wife had her third miscarriage. One would indeed call that a stormy period.
So, to ease the pain, he took a six-month sabbatical from the church and spent most of his time just playing the piano and talking to God. And with the ever-mysterious movements of our God, it’s no surprise he ended up writing the song during that period of turbulence. Sometime later, while talking to singer Ray Boltz, he mentioned the rough times and the song the Lord had given him during it. Ray decided to record the song and remodelled it into what it is today and released it in 1995. So, there is indeed life after the storm, and the anchor does hold with Jesus operating it.
Now, let’s offer up our sweet sacrifices of praise in a soulful, scintillating reggae version of the song, as done by Jamaican gospel artist, Judith Gayle. Singing: ‘I have journeyed, Through the long, dark night Out on the open sea By faith alone, Sight unknown And yet His eyes, were watching me. The anchor holds, though the ship is battered. The anchor holds, though the sails are torn. I have fallen on my knees, As I face the raging seas, But the anchor holds, In spite of the storm. I’ve had visions, I’ve had dreams, I’ve even held them in my hand, But oh Lord, I never knew, They would slip right through, Oh my Jesus, Like they were only grains of sand.
The anchor holds, though the ship is battered. The anchor holds, though the sails are torn. I have fallen on my knees, As I face the raging seas, But the anchor holds, In spite of the storm. Oh, I have been young, but I am older now, thank the Lord, And there has been beauty, that these eyes have seen, But it was in the night, through the storms of my life, Oh, that’s where God proved, His LOVE for me. The anchor holds, though my ship is battered. The anchor holds, though my sails are torn. And I have fallen on my knees, As I face the raging seas, But the anchor holds, In spite of the storm. I have fallen on my knees, As I face the raging seas, But the anchor holds, In spite of the storm. Yes, the anchor holds, In spite of the storm. Thank You Jesus!
Oh my fellow believers, I know that many of us can attest to that fact: the anchor does hold when it’s in the hands of Jesus. The trouble though, is our faith strong enough to understand and accept it when the times get rough? For our sake, I certainly hope so, otherwise we’d be cast adrift in the storm and crash on some rocky shore, with no one to help us. And that’s what Jesus is all about; helping His people through the difficult times, but we must place our faith and trust in His nail scarred hands if we truly need help.
And there are many scriptures that reinforce that truth, especially the beautiful Psalm 34, where Bruh David writes: ‘I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears…This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. (Ps. 34: Ps. 34: 4, 6, 8) And if you don’t believe Bruh David, then listen to Cousin Sol from Proverbs: ‘For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.’ (Prov. 24:16)
Then there’s this from the prophet Micah, as he talks about ‘A Light in the Midst of Darkness’: ‘Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.’ (Mic. 7:7-8) Wow! What faith the scripture talks of! That’s the kind of faith we need in these evil and ungodly times!
And there’s no better way to end than with these most encouraging and reassuring words of Bruh David from the end of Psalm 34. ‘The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh (near) unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit (crushed in spirit). Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate (condemned or held guilty). The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them are desolate (condemned).’ (Ps. 34:17-22)
Now that’s the indisputable truth my people! The Lord has redeemed us through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ, and none of us are condemned! Instead, we are judged to be righteous through faith in Christ Jesus. Yes friends, when we’ve lost the vision of our dreams, they’ve slipped through our hands like grains of sand, and the storm is raging around us, the only safe place of shelter is in the LOVE of Jesus, for He will take control of our anchor and eventually bring us safely to land. That’s why He’s our Saviour and Redeemer. So, let’s be wise and put all our trust in Him today, so that when the storms rage and our ships are battered, we will know where to find a safe harbour. Much LOVE!
…only by faith…and not by sight…can one walk together with Jesus…
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