Who do you turn to in times of trouble? A family member? A close friend? Someone at your church? We all have certain people who we turn to during times of trouble. They're the ones who make us feel safe, shine a light into our dark mood and stick around when we're down.
While it's helpful to have people to call on when we're in need, Jesus is the only one who is completely reliable and by our side through it all.
But we shouldn't wait for troubled times to anchor ourselves in Jesus. After all, we wouldn't wait until the storm was at its worst before lowering our ship's anchor, would we? No, we'd prepare in advance and adhere to the warnings.
In the same way, we need to prepare ourselves for the approaching storm by making sure that we're gripping onto Jesus because He's the only One who can keep us steady throughout.
When we're going through testing times or when our world is in turmoil, we need Jesus more than ever before because we're more susceptible than ever to drifting away from Him. We're at greater risk of drifting into hopelessness, sin and darkness.
Having Jesus as our anchor doesn't mean that we'll never experience hard times. But it does mean that when they come, we'll be prepared. As we read in Hebrews 6:19, hope is our anchor, and we find our hope in Jesus. It's this hope that sees us through when all around us is crashing down. And even when it's not, we're empowered with the knowledge that there are better things to come our way.
What are you holding onto in troubling times?
If you're currently going through a difficult time, assess whether you're gripping tighter to the rock that is Jesus or whether you're slipping away from Him. It might be that your faith is faltering when it comes to believing His words and His promise to carry your burden. Instead you maybe believing the words of people who predict an unfavourable outcome. Or maybe you've started to seek solace and support from another source. Whatever you circumstances, here are two simple ways that you can tighten up your trust in Christ.
Two tips for anchoring yourself in Christ
Focus on his promises
Don't dwell on the negative events that are occurring. Instead look at what God promises. He promises to give you strength when you're weak, to protect you and supply you with all that you need. You might find it helpful to memorise some Bible verses such as these: Matthew 11:28-29, Philippians 4:19 and Isaiah 40:29-31.
Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart
The words that we speak hold a lot of power so it makes sense to use them to tighten our grip on our rock. If we have faith in Jesus, we should profess not just with our actions, which are of course important, but with our words, too. The more we voice that we believe that the Lord will make a way, the more we strengthen that belief. You might find it helpful to come up with a particular brief prayer or refrain to speak when things get tough in your life.
