In what do you place your hope? Perhaps it’s success. A great career. Making a fortune. Being loved or having children. If it is something transient, you have placed your hope in something false that can crash and burn.

In my thirties, I felt full of hope. Married, with precious children who were the delight of my eyes, a beautiful home with lots of blooming daffodils, and friends in many countries.

Ken Anderson of Ken Anderson Films trained me in making and producing films and audiovisuals. Passionate for the unreached, I traveled in Asia, the Middle East, and behind the Iron Curtain to train nationals, who I guided through film scripts. In Maryland, I lip synched the recordings of their voices onto the film so people had films in their mother tongue.

I loved traveling, trekking through villages and cities to do photographic work for film strips. I loved script writing and also co-authored 3 books now translated into numerous languages.

One of my favorite projects was receiving 2 miles of film footage smuggled out of the USSR and making it into the film, More Than Conquerors.

On the side, I counseled hurting individuals, spoke at ladies meetings and sometimes to mixed groups.

Busy for the Lord, I felt I had arrived. But life is a journey not a destination.

I thought my hope and identity was in Jesus. It wasn’t. It was about doing great things for the Lord.

Beneath the success and activity, skilled at numbing my broken heart, I buried anything hurtful.

That’s where things get interesting!

The Jesus I loved, loved me too much to let me continue being buoyed up by false hope. Like a vessel on a tumultuous sea, the winds tossed me to and fro until I felt like I was drowning.

I thought things couldn’t get worse. But they did!

Someone I trusted manipulated friends against me. Believing a lie, they verbally attacked me. Afterwards, In utter despair, I gazed in the mirror and said, “There is no hope.”

The storms exposed hidden beliefs I was worthless; God had failed me; He was angry with me, and it was impossible to please Him.

I had been doing all the right things but it didn’t work. Now I wanted to die.

In desperation, I struggled on. But the Lord can be relentless when He wants us to find our hope in Him and not in things or accomplishments.

He took away my health. Still I strove to please Him.

You see, I had a victim identity and held onto anchors grounded in wrong beliefs that needed to come to the light. The anchor I clung tightest to was striving for perfection so I could earn God’s favor and love.

The Lord is a Gentleman; He takes us at our word. I longed to know Him, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His suffering and had asked Him to remove anything hindering intimacy with Him.

He answered. But not how I expected.

Rather than blessing me with happiness and security, He allowed everything I loved to be stripped from me.

Deeply shamed, I felt as if I had been plunged into hell.

Did you know, it’s far better to fall upon the Rock than for the Rock to fall upon us? When He bruises us – it is to heal us of deep festering wounds.

Jesus wants us to cling only to Him.

If your identity is things you do, like me, you’ll have a performance based mentality. The crazy things is when things fall apart, you’ll lose your identity!

I’m sure you understand lies must be exposed to light before they can be overcome by truth.

Because He loved me, God allowed my false identity to be exposed. His work was painful.

Unexpectedly, out of the ashes of my life, like a phoenix rising, He formed something beautiful inside me.

Resurrection life!

Today, Jesus is my dearest Companion and Friend. Though I still experience overwhelming waves seeking to crush me, I am never alone. Christ is the Pilot and the Anchor of my boat. He carries me through adversity and teaches me to sing praises rather than complain.

The raging winds seek to deceive. They say – in the first person – “I am a failure. I’m no good. No one can ever love me.”

But they lie!

When Jesus is our Hope, we stand in authority as a mighty warrior to face those storms with the truth.

I’m learning to listen to the wind of the Holy Spirit, gently whispering my name and calling me “Beloved.” He is my Mentor. He guides me, teaches me, disciplines me, and replicates the aroma of my Beloved Lord in my spirit.

Your sojourn here on earth and your eternal destiny are important. Do you know what anchors you in the midst of the storm? Do you know where you place your hope?

Perhaps you are accomplishing great things. That’s good. But things, fame, success, special people cannot satisfy or protect when adversity hits.

Sunday, I heard Stuart McAlpine speak on Christ, our anchor and our hope. Afterwards, I reflected on the wonder of the Heavenly Father’s personal love for me.

For years I tried to be enough so I could earn God’s love. But Daddy God already loved me. I didn’t have to earn His love.

He wanted me to come and rest under the His shadow, secure from the storm. So with compassion, He allowed winds of adversity to buffet and drive me to the end of my rope – into the arms of Jesus.

In my hopelessness and fear, I hadn’t realized Jesus held the other end of my rope.

Think how Jesus calmed the Sea of Galilee.

Fearless, He stood at the bow of the ship during a horrific storm. With quiet authority, He commanded, “Be still”. Instantly, the raging winds and angry sea became calm.

Life is full of violent storms. In the midst of the tempest, Jesus is the strong anchor; steadfast and immovable.

He will hold you secure as the storms rage. He holds your rope and will draw you through the storm into the safe haven of the Father’s love. Because Jesus lives, you will be safe.

There’s one caveat. You have to allow Jesus to rescue you.

Have you ever tried to help someone in a terrible place but that person really didn’t want to be helped? It’s heartbreaking.

The secret is, when all else fails – flee to Him. He is the only secure anchor for your soul.

Today, choose to allow Jesus to rescue you. Choose Him to be your Hope.

He is the true anchor. It cannot be Jesus plus good works. When push comes to shove, everything will fade and fall away. Nothing in this world is 100% guaranteed.

In conclusion, only Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is faithful. He will meet the deepest longings of your heart. If you let Him.

Choose to let go of things that fade away. Take hold of the rope attached to the Anchor, who loves you and gave Himself for you.