The Matterhorn is a mountain not to be taken lightly. Since 1865, approximately 500 lives have been lost trying to scale it. On average, 12 lives per year are lost. That’s one life per month!
Two men dared to climb the Matterhorn and so they hired three guides. All five climbers were linked together as they climbed. When the last man slipped, immediately there was a domino effect. All five men were affected by the slip and the fall of the one — and yet, the five men lived. You know why? The lead man had anchored himself to the mountain. Though others slipped and fell, because one man was anchored, he was able to stand firm. The anchor helped him stand firm and all of them were saved!
As Christians, standing firm isn’t easy in a society that shifts and changes seemingly on a whim. For all society might do, we find ourselves charged with a call to stand firm. Paul lovingly addresses the Philippian Church with the opening verse of Chapter 4: “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!” We are charged with standing firm at least 25-30 times in the scriptures! Certainly, there is something to learn from the Bible if it repeats itself on standing firm so many times.
Amidst all the craziness of this world, the charge to stand firm comes as a relief when I realize something important. Much like the mountain climbers, my ability to stand firm has little to do with my strength, and much to do with my anchor. Just like five men’s lives were saved by the anchor that held, so too do I find myself saved and standing firm because my anchor held! Jesus, my blessed hope, is the anchor that will always hold!
Being anchored in Jesus is the wisest decision to make because no matter what changes, Jesus does not! Not only is He the unchanging God, but look at what 2 Corinthians 1:20-22 has to tell us:
“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through Him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
I have a God on my side who makes me to stand firm in Christ because with Christ as my anchor, the anchor will always hold! I hope today you are refreshed in knowing the anchor holds and that God makes us to stand firm in Christ.
Five men almost lost their lives. One man stood firm — all because there was an anchor that held.
Whose life will be saved by your standing firm with Christ as your anchor?
— Franco Martinez
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