Will Your Anchor Hold

Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift, and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift or firm remain?

[refrain] We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love.

It is safely moored, ’twill the storm withstand,
For ’tis well secured by the Savior’s hand;
And the cables passed from His heart to mine,
Can defy the blast, through strength divine.

It will firmly hold in the straits of fear,
When the breakers have told the reef is near;
Though the tempest rave and the wild winds blow,
Not an angry wave shall our bark o’erflow.

It will surely hold in the floods of death,
When the waters cold chill our latest breath;
On the rising tide it can never fail,
While our hopes abide within the veil.

This popular hymn was written in 1882 by Priscilla Owens, a Sunday school teacher at the Union Square Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore, Maryland. Although she wrote a number of hymns and songs for her pupils, this is the best known today.  The music was written by William J. Kirkpatrick, a prolific writer of hymn tunes and a compiler of hymn collection who was a member of the same denomination  as Owens.

Although other Biblical texts are also referenced in the verses of the hymn, the words of this great song were inspired by the Epistle to the Hebrews, chapter 6, verse 19; “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast…”

It is as if Ms. Owens caught a glimpse of the future and saw a day when, as the scriptures so rightly say, many would depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. A time when evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived and when men’s heart [would] fail them because of fear.

On any given day, the headlines of most major news agency venerate secular religions and decry Christianity.  Leaders both inside and outside of the church applaud immorality and call for an end to holding to the scriptures as once delivered to men. They look for and give a new interpretation. They propose that those who maintain a Biblical worldview, seeing and interpreting all facets of life through the lenses of God’s Word are narrow minded, all kinds of phobic and antiquated. They have launched an all-out attack on everything Christian, waging war on the ideals that we hold dear. It is in this tempestuous environment that the child of God must live, work, flourish,  raise children and the likes. We are admonished to continue thou in the things that we have learned and hast been assured of , knowing of whom thou hast learned them.

Therefore, just as it is necessary for a sailor to have onboard his ship, an anchor, “any of various devices dropped by a chain, cable, or rope to the bottom of a body of water for preventing or restricting the motion of a vessel or other floating object from drifting, due to wind and current. It typically has broad, hooklike arms that bury themselves in the bottom to provide a firm hold,” likewise, the Christian believer must be anchored safely and surely in the Word of God during these times. We must be moored in the Lord, our hope and stay, holding on to the very foundation of our faith, with everything  in us and without wavering! The question that you and I must ask ourselves as we go from day to day, is will our anchor hold? The strong refrain must swiftly come back:

We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love.

By John Amanchukwu
To learn more about John Amanchukwu be sure to visit his website here.