Anchored

November 20, 2008

By Christina Quick

On a recent vacation, our family camped at Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland. We pitched a tent just off the beach where we could hear the crashing surf throughout the night. It sounded like thunder as strong air currents driven by a distant tropical storm stirred up the sea and lashed at the narrow strip of land. The bright stars, visible through the screen roof, were my only reassurance nature was still at peace.

Other than a few cinderblock showers that yield only cold water, there are no permanent structures on Assateague. No condos. No motels. No strip malls. No streetlights. Just a wild, windswept spit of sand that is forever shifting and changing. Strange as it may seem, it is my kind of place.

In such a setting, you can’t help but think about God. Even the challenges of primitive living reminded me of my reliance on Him.

The first problem presented itself shortly after we arrived. We had brought along extra-long tent stakes, just as the park’s Web site advises. But almost as soon as we drove them in, the stakes somehow wriggled free from the tent’s webbing and became hopelessly lost in several inches of sand.

“This is like the Bible story of the foolish guy who built his house on the sand,” remarked our 11-year-old, who was clearly amused.

Fortunately, my husband and I had already devised a backup plan. We filled gallon milk jugs with sand, attached the handles to the tent with lengths of cord, and used a shovel to bury them deep. The makeshift “deadman anchors” held the humble shelter firmly in place even as the wind blew.

Next time, we agreed, we won’t even bother with stakes in a situation that calls for anchors.

I wonder how many times we make that error in our spiritual lives. It’s easy to stake a claim in Christianity, proclaiming our place in God’s kingdom. But when everything around us starts to shift, faith can easily slip away unless it’s anchored securely in God’s Word.

“But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (Matthew 7:26,27, NIV).

Notice that though the foolish man was familiar with God’s Word, he failed to apply this knowledge. He never bothered to anchor his life in a relationship with Christ or build on the foundation of His Word. Tragically, he realized his mistake only as the object of his misplaced trust came crashing down.

Just as it matters how you set up a tent or build a house, even the most disciplined and seemingly successful life has no structural integrity unless it is built on Christ. He is the only One who can keep us standing when the harsh winds of reality blow.

— Christina Quick is staff writer for Today’s Pentecostal Evangel and blogs at Refrigerator Art (cquick.agblogger.org).