Our heart needs to find a source of hope. The God of Hope is the anchor of my vessel.
http://crossandcutlass.blogspot.com/2011/08/need-anchor-for-your-ship-in-storm.html?m=1
This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil Hebrews 6:19
Well, most of us know that an anchor is that huge iron hook that is tossed over the side of a ship. It drags along the ocean bottom until it catches in a rock or a crag and then it keeps the ship in place. It keeps the ship stable and firm and sure, even during a storm.
But how can hope keep our ship firm. How can hope keep us steady and sure when life seems to be falling down around us? Isn’t hope just a nice word that makes us feel good? Isn’t it just something we wish would happen but we aren’t sure it will?
But after studying the Bible, I’ve come to believe that the hope God is talking about is so much more than just wishful thinking.
1. Hope is a real, tangible reality of something good in our future
For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance Romans 8:24-25
Shame’s a sham when we’re covered by the blood of the sacrificed Lamb
The underlying dynamic of shame is the fear of rejection and abandonment.
– Carl Schneider
(from Shame and Grace p 107)
In short, inside our shame broods the worst of all fears, a fear that is the sting of death itself, the fear of rejection.
This lands us feet first at one of the most important points of this entire book: the experience of being accepted is the beginning of healing for the feeling of being unacceptable. Being accepted is the single most compelling need of our lives; no human can be a friend of herself while at the edges of her consciousness she feels a persistent fear that she may not be accepted by others. Not accepted by what others? By anyone important to us who may size us up and find us wanting.
