Four Spiritual Anchors for Surviving Life’s Storms
- Jack Selcher
- Aug 17, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Summary
Using Paul’s shipwreck in Acts 27, this article teaches believers how to survive life’s storms by dropping four spiritual anchors. God’s Word provides stability when circumstances rage. The four anchors are trusting God’s control, believing in His goodness, surrendering to His purposes, and relying on His provision. Real-life stories illustrate how God faithfully guides, protects, and provides, even when outcomes seem uncertain.
Sailing Into Dangerous Waters
In the first century, sailing on the Mediterranean Sea after October was considered foolish. Paul’s vessel was pushing the limits of the sailing season.
Ignored Warnings and God’s Assurance
He urged the captain and centurion not to continue the journey beyond Fair Havens on Crete until after winter. It was like talking to a door. No one listened.
A furious northeaster sprang up. It gripped Paul’s vessel for fourteen days and nights. One night, an angel told Paul the ship would be lost, but the passengers would not. God had spoken. It would be just as He said (Acts 27:25).
God’s Word: The Anchor Beneath the Storm
God’s word is the sea bottom for your storm strategy anchors. On June 25, 1875, Hudson Taylor anchored the China Inland Mission on a scriptural principle. If you obey the Lord, He is responsible for the decision, not you.
Four Spiritual Anchors
The crew on Paul’s vessel put down four anchors in the storm and prayed for daylight (27:29). You, too, need four anchors as your storm strategy.
Anchor One: Trust God’s Control
The first anchor is trust that God is in control. During the Great Depression, Wallace Johnson, a Christian and the founder of Holiday Inn, lost his job at the sawmill.
He entered the building business. Within five years, he was a multi-millionaire. He lost his job because God had a position of greater Kingdom influence ahead.1
Anchors Two: God’s Goodness
The second anchor is God’s goodness. A fishing vessel was caught in a storm off Newfoundland and Labrador. The same night, a cottage on the coast caught fire.
The next morning, the ship returned safely. A woman shrieked to her returning husband that fire had destroyed everything they had.
The husband assured her that the light of the burning cottage had guided the boat into the safety of the port.2 God is good even when circumstances suggest otherwise.
Anchor Three: Surrender
The third anchor is surrender to God’s plan. Sometimes, God allows storms in your life so you will press closer to Him. As you lean into Him, give Him your concerns. Submit to His purposes.
Anchor Four: Trust God’s Provision
The fourth anchor is trust in God’s provision. A seriously ill missionary had to eat oatmeal and canned milk for a month because her check did not arrive. She thought God had let her down.
Sometime later, a doctor who heard her story told her she owed her life to that thirty-day oatmeal diet. That is just what he would have prescribed.3 Trust in God’s provision!
Put your anchors down! God is in control. God is good. Submit to His purposes. Trust in His provision.
2. Keep The Fire Burning! Sermon by Michael McCartney, Leviticus 6:8-14, 1 Chronicles 29:10-14 - SermonCentral.com
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