First of all I would like to thank Crossway Books for sending me a review copy of June Hunt's book. Thank you Angie and everyone at Crossway for publishing such useful material for the Christian Community.
As I do more and more counseling and conflict resolution mediation I discover that the biggest issue people face is the loss or lack of Hope. When couples come for counseling because they are considering divorce they almost always say, "there is no hope for our marriage!" That is a devastating thing to hear.
Scripturally we are admonished to always be ready to give an answer to others why we have hope in the Gospel. So, the question to be asked is this, "Do you have Hope?"
June Hunt does a wonderful job of answering the question about finding hope in all situations, in all circumstances, in all the trials and troubles that we face. She discovered while reading through scripture that often times the concept of hope was tied in with a `nautical' theme, specifically the theme of `anchors.'
So, her question for us is, "Is Jesus the anchor of your life?" She uses Jeremiah 29:11 as a key verse throughout the book. Jeremiah says, "I know the plans I have for you . . . plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Her further premise is, "what an anchor is to a ship, hope is to the soul."
So, with those thoughts in mind are you confident that you have the `hope' that can carry you through the storms of this life?
June weaves together counseling tips, scripture, Bible stories and personal stories that will give you plenty of help in developing that "hope in Christ" that can carry you through all of life.
I think that maybe Chapter three, "Your Unfailing Anchor" is the best chapter of the book. June looks at five physical types of anchors that are used to keep ships either moored in place or steady in strong stormy seas. Each anchor progresses from the simplest to the most complex. The work they must do also progresses from very simply holding a small boat in place to creating enough drag for a large ship to bring it to a stop.
Knowing the difference in anchors can make the difference in a ship running aground or being completely safe in the storm. So, the analogy is this, is your relationship with the Lord strong enough to hold you in the heavy seas created by major storms as well as holding your row boat steady while you fish?
There is a lot more to this book than I can share in this review. But one Bible story that June shared caused me to really stop and thing, "Do I have the Hope that would hold me steady in the storm?" The story is when the apostle Paul was on the ship headed to Rome. Their ship was so tossed by the ways that they through the anchor over the side to try and create enough drag to stop the boat. It didn't work, so they threw three more anchors over the side, that's how desperate they were.
But the true anchor was when an Angel of the Lord came to Paul and reassured him that everyone on board would be saved, not one sole would be lost. Paul shared that assurance with the others and then their "hope" was tested. The ship's captain tried to run it through the reefs to the beach, but instead it hit the shoal and started to break up. It was a disparate situation. But, when all was said and done. The ship was sunk, but not one soul was lost. All made it to shore.
So, is your hope stronger than four anchors and able to hold you together even in the roughest seas? The epilogue will seek to affirm your answer. The title of the epilogue is, "How to know your anchor will hold."
After you have read the entire book and have started to see where your hope comes from June will give one last encouragement, our hope is found in Jesus Christ.
Enjoy!
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