A few weeks ago, I took a short retreat to spend time studying, praying, and seeking the Lord for our church. I was blessed with the opportunity to spend those days at the coast. While I was there, I often found myself simply sitting and staring out over the bay. A couple of the days were a little stormy, with high tides.
As I sat mesmerized by the intense movement of the water one of the days, I noticed something interesting. There were pieces of driftwood scattered across the surface of the water, constantly being pushed and pulled by the current. Some of the logs were tossed around by the waves, while others were carried further and further down the shoreline. None of them had any control over where they were going—they were simply going where the water took them.
As I watched that driftwood, I couldn’t help but think about how much it resembles what life can look like for many of us. The tides and currents of this world are strong. Culture shifts, opinions change, pressures mount, and circumstances rise and fall. If we aren’t careful, we can find ourselves being pushed and pulled in all sorts of directions—emotionally, spiritually, and morally—simply going wherever the current of the moment carries us.
But Scripture reminds us that followers of Jesus are meant to live differently. Hebrews 6:19 says, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” An anchor keeps a ship from drifting when the winds and currents begin to push against it. It provides stability in the midst of movement. In the same way, our hope in Christ anchors our souls. When our lives are rooted in Him—when we trust His promises, stand on His Word, and remain close to Him—we are not easily carried away by the changing tides of this world.
The apostle Paul echoed this same idea when he wrote in Ephesians 4:14, saying that believers should no longer be “infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching.” Instead, our faith is meant to grow deeper and stronger so that we remain steady even when the world around us is unstable.
One of the beautiful things about an anchor is that it doesn’t remove the waves—it simply keeps the vessel steady through them. Following Jesus doesn’t mean life will suddenly become calm and predictable. Storms will still come. Challenges will still arise. But when our lives are anchored in Christ, those waves no longer determine our direction.
So the question for each of us is this: What are we anchored to? If our identity, security, and hope are tied only to circumstances, success, or the approval of others, we will always find ourselves drifting when those things shift. But when our hope is firmly anchored in Jesus—His truth, His character, and His promises—we discover a stability that the currents of this world cannot move.
May we be people who refuse to drift. Instead, may our hearts remain firmly anchored in Christ—the One who holds us steady no matter how strong the tide becomes.
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