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Having hope is a vital part of life. Hope sustains us when we face difficult situations. Hope helps us when we are discouraged. Hope helps us fight and continue on. Hope helps keep our eyes fixed on Jesus before the promise arrives.
We need to guard hope and hang onto it tightly. Hebrews 10:23 says, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."
“Holding fast” is a sailing term that means preventing sailors' hands from slipping on lines or securing themselves to the rigging when working in bad weather. A line, or rope, is "fast" when it is firmly and positively attached to a ship.
So "hold fast" means firmly and positively secured, holding onto, while staying the course. If Jesus has promised you something, you're in a good place. Jesus will be faithful to that promise, and you can have hope in that truth.
In Hebrews 6:17-19, we are told that God can't lie, and because of that truth, we should "lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast."
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Hope in Jesus is our anchor. Hope keeps us grounded. An anchor on a boat or a ship keeps it in the same general area, even if there are waves. If we lose hope and pull up that anchor in our lives, we will ride the waves of life and get off course pretty quickly.
Several years ago, I went fishing with my wife's grandpa on his boat in Detroit Lakes. We got to one of his spots, and we started fishing. The fish were biting immediately, so he asked me to drop the anchor like he had many times before. When I dropped the anchor, the rope snapped, and the anchor disappeared to the bottom of the lake. My heart sank, and I felt awful.
Grandpa said it was OK, it was an accident. We kept fishing, but it wasn't easy to stay in the exact location where the fish were biting. We had a good fishing spot, but lost it and couldn't find it again since we no longer had an anchor.
We don't have to be thrown around by the waves of life when we have hope. We can be anchored in Jesus by the hope we have in and through Him.
