In the New Testament’s Letter to the Hebrews, the writer speaks of “hope we have as an anchor of the soul” (6:19). It can be well-argued that the entire mission of the Bible, indeed the entire spiritual purpose of every person, is locating and articulating a “center,” something that grounds us. In other words, we are all searching for a place of stability—a truth or reality that holds us steady in a shifting world.
It is axiomatic— that is, a truth so obvious it requires no proof—that people who don’t have a center tend not to do well. We say that they are “adrift” or “lost” or “aimless” or “unstable” or (as the verse above intimates) “hopeless.” Anxiety and depression characterize such centerless-ness. Without an anchor, our inner lives easily become restless, fragile, and unsettled.
Also, when people don’t have a spiritual center, it makes it difficult for other people to find them and relate to them. So, anxiety and depression are joined by isolation. Here, the soul suffocates. Cut off from stability and connection, the soul begins to feel as though it cannot breathe.
If we need a spiritual center, the next question is: what is it? The passage above indicates that an anchor for the soul should be steadfast and unchanging, especially in the storms of life. It should also originate in something greater than the individual. Finally, it should give the soul a shape to take, a structure that keeps it from collapsing in on itself, a way of being in the world that aligns a soul with its purpose.
The Bible, therefore, offers the soul of Jesus as a sufficient center. His way (truth, love and courage) becomes ours through surrender not striving. His way always functions redemptively no matter the circumstances. To live redemptively is to live from that center—the place where our lives, anchored in Him, find stability, clarity and purpose.
Eric Hankins, Ph.D., is pastor at First Fairhope Church, 300 S. Section St., Fairhope, AL. For more information, call 251-928-8685 or visit FirstFairhope.org.
