Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight.
(Acts 27:29)

When a winter storm began to toss their vessel, sailors aboard that old ship, hearing the creaking and groaning of the timbers, feared their ship would break up. After all, things like that happened. They were off an island in the midst of the stormy Mediterranean. It looked grim. A doctor on board wrote the log of the voyage. "Hope of our being saved," he wrote, "was gradually abandoned." At midnight they were about to be driven on the rocks when Luke the physician wrote, "We cast four anchors out of the ship and wished for day."

In life we, too, sometimes find ourselves in the despair that Luke and the Apostle Paul were in—confronted with threatening, grave situations. They cast four anchors that brought them safely through the storm; and, accordingly, there are four anchors that can hold you steady amidst the storm that confronts you. Those anchors are guidelines for living.

The first anchor that will strengthen you in the storm is the anchor of God's Word, the Bible. The Bible is something like a chart that depicts the unknown, sometimes uncharted, sea of life. It tells you that your destination can be the haven of rest, and that Christ is a lighthouse that will direct you safely to the haven you seek. Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). Contrary to what we would like to think, everyone who sails the sea of life does not end up in the haven of rest, described as heaven by the Bible. Scores of men are shipwrecked and their souls are lost in the voyage.

The second anchor, which can give you stability, is faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible says that faith in Christ is an anchor of the soul that is sure and steadfast. In the language of the sea, when a person walks with Christ, He stands beside him and walks with him or her in the storm. It is when you turn the helm over to Christ and let Him give you guidance and direction that you can rest peacefully—knowing that He will see you through the dark night. Contrary to what many think, God never promised to give you immediate deliverance from the storm, but He did promise to go with you, to be there in the night hour, and to deliver you from the wrath of the troubles which could destroy you.

On January 17, 1912, five men reached the South Pole. Edward Wilson, an M.D., was one of them. On the return trip of 800 miles, one man collapsed and died more than halfway back. One more went out and gallantly met death on the ice; the other three kept on until they were 11 miles from safety and there perished. Later their bodies and diaries were recovered. Edward Wilson wrote in his diary, "So I live knowing that I am in God's hands to be used to bring others to Him.... We must do what we can and leave the rest to Him. My trust is in God, so that it matters not what I do or where I go." That was a man who had made faith a powerful anchor.

The third anchor is that of prayer. This anchor is very powerful and should be used always—not just when you are in trouble!! Learn that prayer can be a powerful anchor—not just to keep you from being thrown on the rocks--but to open the door to the blessings and presence of God.

Finally, there is the anchor of providence. Sometimes God allows the winds to blow so you realize our need of Him. Cast out four anchors and ride out the storm in your life.

Resource reading: Acts 27