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24th August 2024
SaturdayReflection
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Scott Maxham shares
A Clay Jar
An Anchor in the Midst of Change
Hebrews 6:19-20
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Change is often hard.
But it is also necessary. Without change, we would not have life.
Sometimes we embrace change. Other times we resist it.
Sometimes change is good.
And sometimes change is less than good.
But no one can escape it.
We encounter change in many different ways.
My body changes food into energy.
My body goes through an almost continual change from conception through decomposition.
Relationships with parents, spouses, children, friends, co-workers, and neighbours are seldom static.
Jobs change over time, as does my home, and the wilderness that I enjoy.
My understanding of the world around me changes over time and with additional knowledge.
My country changes due to elections, demographics, an increasing reliance on the government, and pressure from other countries.
Change is all around us.
It is hard to look at something, apart from God, that is unchangeable.
So why do so many resist it?
Now I am not a psychiatrist, nor do I have any training in the field, but that does not mean I have no opinion.
So here's my two cents worth; hopefully it will be worth at least that.
Most people probably enjoy change in some areas.
But most of us are resistant to change in some specific area(s) of our lives.
There is so much change going on around us, and with the rate of change growing, that it can seem like I am being swept along a swift stream, out of control.
Having something unchangeable in my life can act as an anchor, giving me some sense of stability.
That anchor may be a spouse, a job, the church, or some social organization.
While I may not be happy about all the change going on around me, that anchor provides stability that helps keep me grounded, preventing me from being swept off my feet and drowned.
It gives me a comfortable place to retreat to, a place where I know what to expect, a shelter in the storm.
But what happens when that anchor cannot cope with the change: the spouse dies; the job is lost; church life is disrupted, the economy crashes, or your retirement is lost?
Is your life thrown into turmoil?
Or do you have an anchor that will not drag, that remains secure regardless of what happens around you?
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.
It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.
The author of Hebrews here refers to an anchor for our soul, one that is firm and secure; it will not drag even during the most violent storms of life.
This anchor is hope.
Not a wishful hope; but an earnest expectation.
It is an assurance that regardless of what might happen to me here, God has prepared something much better for me and will see me through it.
No matter how much the world around me may change; no matter how much relationships may change; and no matter how my own economic or social condition changes; one thing never does.
I have this hope as an anchor for my soul, preventing me from being swept along with the torrent.
Do you have an un-draggable anchor to sustain you in the midst of change?
><(((°>
Scott Maxham
A Clay Jar
I have been a follower of Jesus for 53 years.
Married for 41 years with two grown children and four grandchildren.
I am actively involved in a local church. Retired.
And I also enjoy Bible study, teaching the Bible, friendly theological discussions, and playing with my grandchildren.
I am a clay jar, a fragile, fallible follower of Jesus.
And this blog is a reflection of who I am and what God is doing in me.
My hope and prayer are that God will use this site to his glory and that it will be a helpful resource to the body of Christ.
A Clay Jar focuses primarily on theology, the study of God, and all that he is doing in his creation.
I do not pretend to have all of the answers to life's big questions or even most of the little ones.
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