When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised. People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things [his promise and his oath] in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. WE HAVE THIS HOPE AS AN ANCHOR FOR THE SOUL, FIRM AND SECURE. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

For much of my life, as I pursued God, I thought I just needed to try harder to be holy, pure and righteous. I would blame myself, verbally beat myself up, and in general, act as if I should just be smarter about not doing sinful things. This never really worked in the long-term. It wasn’t until I realized that it is God who promised to do the work in me, that I began to experience significant victory time and again. I developed an intense hunger for God’s Word. This led to a daily focus on my mindset being in Jesus Christ. I share this because for much of my life I felt stuck – stuck in an endless pattern of sinning and repenting and sinning again. I think this is how many of the Isrealites felt, as well. They had to go and offer sacrifices for their sins to receive God’s forgiveness. They continued do this, because they kept sinning.

But when Jesus came, he fundamentally changed the paradigms in this world regarding sin and righteousness. Regarding sin, because we do not need to offer sacrifices anymore – Jesus has already paid the price for our sins on the cross. And regarding righteousness, because he has placed his “agent for good” in our hearts – the Holy Spirit – to transform our minds and our hearts into his mind and heart. To make us his ambassadors. It is not just up to us and our power anymore. Now, we get to operate with the power of the One. Jesus, is our high priest and he gives us access to God the Father. If we commit to him, then we are found in him; and when we are found in him, he heals our hearts.

This hope in Jesus, it truly is an ANCHOR FOR OUR SOULS. Our hope is never going to go away, no matter what evil this world tries to bring our way. He is faithful and God always delivers on his promises. How will I live in the richness of this truth today?
Lord, thank you for your promises – they are reliable 100% of the time. You always make good on them. Teach me to free up the space in my heart for your Spirit, your kingdom work, and your priorities. I want to be right in the center of your will.