Lyrics
Let Go The Anchors
Read together: Acts 27:27–44; Hebrews 12:1–2; Philippians 3:12–14; Hebrews 6:19–20
There is a moment in Paul's journey to Rome that sounds almost exactly like this song. Read Acts 27:27–44. After fourteen days in a violent storm, the sailors sensed they were nearing land. In the dark, they dropped anchors and prayed for daylight. When morning came, they saw a bay with a beach. Then Luke writes: "Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea… they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach." Every one of the 276 people on board reached shore safely, just as God had promised Paul.
The anchors that held them through the night had to be released if they were going to reach land. That is the picture at the heart of this song. Let go the anchors, let the past drift away. Hoist up the Spirit and follow His way.
What anchors might be holding you? The song names some: the chains of the past and our pride… the weight of regret and of shame. Some anchors are sins we keep returning to. Others are wounds we keep reopening. Some are good things that have become too important to us. They may have once felt like security. Now they are keeping us from going where God is leading.
Read Hebrews 12:1–2. "Let us throw off every weight and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus." Notice there are two categories: sin, and weights. Not everything that slows us down is sinful. But anything that keeps us from following Jesus must be released.
Read Philippians 3:12–14. Paul—who had plenty in his past to regret—wrote, "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal." He did not mean he literally erased his memory. He meant he refused to let the past define his direction. Forgiveness in Christ frees us to stop dragging yesterday behind us.
The song speaks of mercy's wind and grace filling the sails. Jesus once compared the Holy Spirit to the wind (John 3:8)—unseen, but powerful. We cannot produce the wind. We can only raise the sail and let Him carry us.
We should be careful with the image, though. Scripture also speaks of an anchor we must never let go. Read Hebrews 6:19–20. Our hope in Christ is "an anchor for the soul, firm and secure," which enters God's very presence where Jesus has gone before us. The call is not to drift without any anchor at all. It is to cut loose from every false security and hold fast to the one true anchor—Jesus Himself.
Perhaps you are a weary sailor, as the song says. You have drifted for a long time, trying to steer your own way through doubt and fear. Jesus is calling your name. Let go of what holds you back, and trust Him to bring you safely to shore.
A moment to respond: Draw a simple boat on a piece of paper. Beneath it, draw a few anchors and label them with what is holding you back—pride, regret, a habit, fear. Pray over each one and ask Jesus to help you let it go. Then write "Jesus—my true anchor" at the top, and keep the paper somewhere you'll see it.
Let's pray: Lord, we have drifted too long, trying to steer by ourselves. Show us the anchors we need to cut loose—our pride, our past, our shame. Fill our sails with Your Spirit and carry us where You want us to go. Keep our hope anchored firmly in Jesus. Bring us safely home by Your mercy. Amen.
Our desire at UnrelentingJesus is that you would let go of everything holding you back and hold on to Jesus, the anchor who will never fail.
