Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:20

Our text gives us a promise from the risen Lord Jesus Christ. Many of His soldiers have had to reclaim this promise on the mission field or in a difficult place of service. In times of hardship or opposition, the old man can descend into doubt and wonder, “Where is Jesus?” Whether we acknowledge it or not, Jesus’ promises never fail. Sometimes we fail to recognize the promised eternal presence of our Savior.

What is the most common reason? Probably denying His identity. John 1:11 states that even His own people “knew Him not.” Even when they were in His presence, His person and purpose were not acknowledged. Thus, these people did not enjoy the full blessing of being in the presence of the Son of God. In Matthew 23:37, Jesus even states He would have gathered His people to Himself as a hen gathers her brood under her wings. But they refused. This mentality robs a person of the blessing of Jesus Christ’s presence even when He is present and seeking to reach them.

At times, even believers and faithful laborers fail to recognize His presence. Circumstances, fear of danger, or lack of faith can blind us from recognizing His presence. Mark 6 tells the story of Jesus’ disciples out on the sea at night when a storm arose. The wind blew “contrary” to the effort of travel to the other side of the sea. They no doubt became heavily occupied in rowing and trying to accomplish their assignment. They knew Jesus remained behind on the shore and not in the boat with them. In the challenge of the task before them, they forgot Jesus’ power. He just fed more than five thousand people with the lunch of a lad. So, either Jesus was not on their mind, or they thought that Jesus was too far away to help. The Scripture states that though Jesus was on the shore “He saw them toiling” (Mark 6:48). Jesus does not assign a task and then leave the laborer alone. He comes to them even if He must walk on water. It must have been a great comfort to them to hear Jesus speak and tell them, “Be of good cheer. It is I; be not afraid.” Whatever the task and wherever He calls us, Jesus sees us toiling. He comes to our side bringing cheer and peace. As He promised, He will be with us even to the end of the age. We serve the same Jesus Who walked on water.

Sometimes things do not go the way we plan, or we misunderstand God’s plan. We fail to understand how God’s plan differed from our understanding. In Luke 24, two men headed to a village called Emmaus. As they traveled, they discussed the recent events surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus. One expressed his misunderstanding of the mission of Jesus. He thought as many did that Jesus was come to “redeem Israel.” As they journeyed along, Jesus joined them. Their “eyes were holden (restrained) that they should not know Him.” These men did not know they walked in the very company of the resurrected Savior. They focused on the disappointment that their plan was not accomplished to “redeem Israel.” Jesus informed these men of their wrong expectations (vs. 25-26). He pointed them to the Word of God, which foretold the mission of Jesus. The Scriptures of the prophets spoke of the death and the glorification of Jesus Christ. Because they misunderstood the Scripture, they were with Jesus and did not know.

If we are serving Him, we need to know His plan. We will not be disappointed or come to the wrong conclusion about how things happen. We need reminding that He always carries out His plan. God announced His plan back in Genesis 3:15. What if Jesus was not present to inform these men? He is always where His people are laboring and serving to keep us on the right course. Oh, what a comforting fact to know Jesus will not only comfort and protect us, but He will lead us in the right plan.

If Bro. Hurst’s article is an encouragement to you, please email him to let him know. You may also visit ebarnabas.org to make an appointment with him for encouragement.

For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
Hebrews 6:13-19

The problem of drifting away from God and His commands has existed since the fall of man. In our day we observe the influence of trends and ideas. A practice or teaching arises and becomes popular. Right or wrong, biblical or not, there always seems to be some who fall in ranks and drift away. These instances are observable all the way back to Noah’s day. Believing God and living a godly life was not the popular thing to do. In this age, we have an excellent and preserved Bible. It is accurate; God’s hand is upon it. He has used it to save souls and build lives and churches. Then, along came men claiming they had something better. Slowly but surely men who trusted that we had the Word of God began yielding to the enticing popularity of the new thing. We used to sing from old songbooks, the music that reaches down in the soul and honors God. Then there were those who thought the world’s music was entertaining and attractive to more people. While we remain thankful for modern conveniences, technology, communications, and the comfort of buildings, the principles mentioned above have changed in purpose. In varying degrees, the purpose changed from primarily honoring and worshipping God to pleasing and satisfying the carnal hunger of mankind.

It seems we need to reset our anchor. An anchor not solidly set on an immovable object or principle tends to drift under pressure. In our text, we see that the Christian possesses a hope produced by God Who cannot lie. This hope, according to verse nineteen, is an anchor to our soul. We need to set our hope in God and His promises and position ourselves on a steadfast, immovable anchor.

God made a seemingly impossible promise to Abraham. At seventy-five years of age, even in his day, fulfillment of this promise would be humanly impossible. God promised Abram he would become a great nation, yet he fathered no children. God told Abraham to leave his land and go to an unknown destination. Abraham believed God–not the possible doubts and questions of the human mind. God swore to him by “two immutable things” (v.18): the immutability of His counsel and the impossibility for God to lie. Because Abraham anchored not in the place of his nephew Lot, he was blessed. God counted him righteous because he simply believed God. Because Lot anchored elsewhere, he lost his wife and his testimony in the judgment of God.

Jesus established principles and standards while He was on earth for how and what He expected of His church. He also stated that not one jot or tittle of His Word would pass. So why do some think we can adjust and conform more to the world and be successful? It is an indescribable blessing that we are permitted as Abraham to believe God and simply become a child of His kingdom. His promise will not change, and our soul is anchored in an immoveable promise, not drifting with the tides of the contemporary values. Thank God for a secure Anchor of our soul. We may be out of style or unpopular by some standards, but our anchorage in Jesus puts us in the right place when He comes for us.

If Bro. Hurst’s article is an encouragement to you, please email him to let him know. You may also visit ebarnabas.org to make an appointment with him for encouragement.