Devotion 5: Hold Fast

One of my favorite tattoos (if I’m allowed to say such a thing) is in the movie “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.” In the film, as the ship is entering a massive storm, the hands of an older sailor are shown holding firm to a rope. Across his hands reads, “H-O-L-D F-A-S-T” (four letters per word, one for each knuckle). The tattoo, which was apparently common during that historical period, was superstitiously believed to help sailors climb and hold securely on to the ship's rigging.

The writer of Hebrews says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering…” (Hebrews 10:23). The call is to hold on to our hope with all our might and without wavering, meaning, “Don’t let go!” A parent pushing their child on a swing might say, “Hold on tight and don’t let go.” That’s what the passage is saying, but it is essential we know what, or better, Who we are holding on to.

Earlier in Hebrews chapter 6, the Scripture says, “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul” (Hebrews 6:19). Our anchor of hope that we hold on to is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The good news that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin and that He rose from the dead three days later! That good news sustains us through the storms of doubt, fear, confusion, depression, grief, and loneliness.

In storms, we are often tired or can be tempted to hold to something else. This is where disaster comes in. We let go of the power of the Gospel for other anchors. We rely on our own strength, resources, abilities, or connections. We can be lured by some promised deeper spiritual experience. Let me say clearly: there is nothing deeper or more powerful or more profound than the simple truth of the Gospel. Hold fast to the Gospel!

We may also be tempted at times to hold fast to other ideas or opinions. There’s a saying from the 1600s from a German theologian that says, “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and, in all things, charity.” We must be gracious and loving with those we disagree with, but we must not loosen our grip on the true Gospel and its exclusivity to save our soul. Hold loosely to negotiable things, but hold fast to the nonnegotiable truth of the Gospel.

Maybe your grip today is feeling weak or you feel like you may be slipping. Hebrews 10:23 reminds us, “For he who promised is faithful.” We are challenged to hold fast to our hope, knowing that our Savior also holds fast to us. The second verse of the old hymn “He Will Hold Me Fast” says it so well:

For my love is often cold, He must hold me fast.

He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast;

For my Savior loves me so, He will hold me fast.