The 4th chapter of Joshua details the crossing (v.1) of the Jordan and the setting up of a memorial at Gilgal (v.20). A lot of detail is included in the story...most of which needs no commentary. However, the concept of the memorial stones serves as a good place for us to discuss a principle that God showed me some years back. Everyone needs an anchor.
Along the way in our journey as believers, there are moments of significance that we would do well to never forget. I remember my baptism. I remember when pastor Coker baptized me on a Sunday night nearly thrity years ago now. I remember the event, not because I was saved that night. I became a Christ-follower several days prior. I remember the event because that day I went public with my commitment. That day, I glorified God in my obedience. That day, I said to many people who would serve as accountability for me...today I profess my allegiance to Christ.
I remember the day (not the date) many years later, when Marvin Aranoye preached on a Sunday night at my church. I was struggling with being a nominal Christian. I struggled with sin, my commitment to Christ, and my faithfulness to keep my commitments to God. That night, God gripped my heart with the words of Marvin Aranoye. I repented that night of my sin and committed afresh to trust God no matter what! I followed that up by publicly professing this decision before my church. This event served as an anchor for me.
Personally, I have some anchor events. I stood at an altar before my youth pastor June 25, 1988 and professed publicly my commitment to Jodi, my wife. That day is an anchor point in my life. My first jump out of an airplane in 1988 serves as an anchor point when I confronted my fear of heights.
When I say "anchor points," what I mean is...that place and time where things simply made sense and I drew a line and stepped over it. Life is crazy. Sometimes it runs rampant and gets messy. Yet...no matter how crazy it gets, I can always return to the anchor point and find stability. I have revisited my salvation many times. I have examined it (because I was young) to insure that I truly believed at that moment. I can do that because it was linked to my anchor point of baptism. The same is true of my Sunday with Bro. Marvin. On that day, I drew a line in the sand more significant than many other similar decisions. The enemy has tried to tell me through the years that I am a fraud and lack commitment. No matter how convincing he is at the time...I can return to my anchor point and know he is the liar and I am not.
Something about anchor points: for us who have them they are significant. For those who are onlookers, they are just a pile of rocks. The inhabitants of the land probably came by Gilgal for many years afterwards. I imagine a little boy asked his dad, "What's up with that pile of rocks? Why are they arranged right there?" The dad either made up a story about dinosaurs, the easter bunny or evolution...and changed the subject. But to the Israelites who passed by...these rocks were significant. The Israelite dad would tell his children that the rocks came off the bottom of the riverbed beside the feet of the priests on the day God stopped up the water and delivered the promised land to His people. No one had to wonder if God could save them or provide for them...they could look at the anchor point that God had them build as a memorial to His provision on that day.
What's your anchor? Do you catch yourself looking back on a particular moment and being reminded of God's grace in your life? Or is it hazy? Maybe you need to establish an anchor point in your life today. Do it...and make it public. Let it be a time when you can always point to for comfort and peace when life gets crazy.
Proverbs 27:6 is the takeaway today: "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy." Sometimes people tell us things about us or our circumstances. Maybe it is advice, counsel, or a general observation. We always ought to evaluate this input and consider strongly the character and track record of the giver of the info. Friends, if they truly are, won't always tell us what we want to hear...but what we need to hear. They have proven their friendship and we can trust that they may see things about us that we cannot see. Our enemy may pour it on...but it could be (and often is) that he is working a personal agenda.
Grace,
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2 comments:
Good point on the anchors. I wouldn't have called them that, I would have said foundation or rock, but they serve the same purpose. They represent the firm places you can plant your feet when everything goes crazy around you. Then with His assistance you can proceed to bring order out of the chaos and accomplish what needs to be done. I also agree that they don't mean as much to others as they do to you many times. One of the more profound ones for me was a very trivial matter where He answered a prayer I hadn't even asked and I've known from then on that He will provide, no matter what the problem, what the issue, He will provide. Since then I've seen that more and more in my life. It is part of that peace that passes all understanding in my life, to know that I can follow Him and where He leads me and the prize is always worth far more than the cost I'll have to pay along the way, even if all I can see now is the cost and have not the least hint of the prize.
This has really made me think about my testimony. I do have some pretty big stones but I am going to write them down so that I can use them when people ask me questions about my walk with God. I can tell them how God has rescused me, just like He saved the childred.
Thanks for this analogy.
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