Is your string securely tied?

IS YOUR STRING SECURELY TIED?

I recently heard a story about a little boy who was sailing his little sail boat in a pond in the park. He had tied a string to the boat so he wouldn't loose it, but it had come untied. The boat began to drift out further into the pond than the boy could reach and of course he became very upset. His father was watching the whole thing and walked up and began throwing large stones to the far side of the boat. The idea of course was that the splash and the ripples would begin to move the boat back towards the shore. Before long the boat was back within the reach of the boy and he was happy once again.

I wonder if sometimes that is how God works in our lives? We begin to drift away from him, fail to talk with him, fail to worship with his children, do we fail to live lives which would honor him. Then something happens to upset the calm waters of our lives, it makes a big splash and cause ripples. Hopefully these things will cause us to begin to drift back towards God. Do you think that God ever uses those bad or difficult things that happen in your life to get your attention and shove you back into his arms?

I think the problem is that sometimes our string becomes untied, we loose our anchor and we drift. We sometimes sing the old hymn, "Will your anchor hold", notice some of the words:

Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift, or firm remain?

We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior's love.

The writer of the book of Hebrews uses this theme to assure us that we can trust in God. God never changes and never goes back on his word and is always there for us. Notice what the writer says: "God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls."(Hebrews 6:17-19, NLT)

Is your string securely tied? Will your anchor hold? Will you recognize that the ripples or storms taking place around you may be God trying to get your attention? If you are "fastened to the Rock," then you can speak the words of Psalms 23 with security and serenity of one whose father is watching over us. You can sing the words of the song knowing even the storms won't cause you to drift?