In Oct 2016, Hurricane Matthew came ashore in Charleston South Carolina as a Category I hurricane. Charleston, only 20 feet above sea level, was swamped by the 6-foot storm surge. As the storm was approaching, choices had to be made regarding how best to protect property, especially boats. Some chose to take their boats completely out of the water, some sailed them out of the impact zone before the storm hit, and some chose to trust in mooring, anchoring their vessels in the bays, harbors, and many inland waterways around the area. When Matthew came ashore, even large ships were tossed around like toys, ripped from what was thought to be a secure mooring. One such vessel was the “Backman Enterprise”, a 75-foot shrimping trawler. The vessel was ripped from its moorings during the storm and was stranded for over half a decade before it was finally floated off. Like the “Backman”, many boats that once were seaworthy and profitable vessels were doomed to be stranded on oyster beds and sandbars, never to sail the waters again, because their moorings didn’t hold in the storm.

When the storms of life come, they will toss us to and fro, attempting to leave us shipwrecked, and unsalvageable. This can easily become our fate if we are trusting in our own means of security. If we are not anchored in Christ, we can find ourselves stranded in despair and depression, far from our original anchor point.

“ so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain.” (Hebrews 6:18­-19).