Week 36: August 31-September 6, 2025 - Christ: Our Stabilizing Force

This week’s daily readings:

August 31-September 6, 2025

This week’s devotional:

Christ: Our Stabilizing Force

by Rt. Rev. Brian Bethke

Scripture: 

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. 

— Hebrews 6:19a (NIV)

Reflection: 

“3-2-1 GO!” That is all I heard as I jumped head-first out of the Cessna 206 aircraft at 15,000 feet. I was in Coolidge, Arizona, learning how to use a new parachuting system for the USMC Special Operations. This particular system used a pilot chute. A pilot chute was a mini chute that was deployed instantly to help the jumper stabilize themselves while falling until they reach 4000 feet and deploy the main parachute.

I can remember that, when I initially jumped out of the plane, I could feel my body on the verge of tumbling and spinning. I had tumbled and spun in the air quite a bit on previous jumps, and I can honestly say I never really liked the feeling. There is something about falling to the earth at terminal velocity, uncontrollably, that never sat well with me. I dealt with it. I recovered from those incidents. However, they never sat with me well.

Here I was again, on the verge of that same feeling. As I felt my body start to push against the wind to prevent a tumble, I remembered the pilot chute. I reached into my pocket and threw it—instantly I was stable! I did not stop falling, but I was stable. I was still in danger, but I was stable. I was stabilized in the midst of chaos. It was such a wonderful feeling.

Life feels chaotic at times! We tumble and spin. We feel the anxiety of never quite feeling stable. Yet, we have hope. We have a promise. We have an anchor for our soul. We have Christ. Christ does not anchor us to the point of paralysis in life. No, instead he stabilizes us to head into the wind and confront life knowing we are redeemed, loved, and secure. Pastor Chuck Swindoll says it best when he says, “Hope is like an anchor. Our hope in Christ stabilizes us in the storms of life, but unlike an anchor, it does not hold us back.”

Prayer:

Almighty God, we thank you for the many gifts we have in Jesus Christ our Lord. Among those gifts, we often value hope the most. Hope has the ability to allay our fears, to stabilize us in chaotic times, to give us the courage to carry on through adverse conditions, and to help us remain stable until those conditions change (and they always do!). Lord Jesus, be that anchor as we go through life’s storms. Holy Spirit, hold us steady, firm and secure in the sort of peace that only comes from being tethered to you. Father God, you may not calm the storm, but we trust you’ll let us know that we are loved and redeemed in the hope we have from you: Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen