Jesus is the Anchor of Your Soul

Have you ever approached someone with the question, “How is your soul?” Recently at La Mesa, I posed this question to a man sitting across from me. His response was perplexing; he looked at me and replied, “Fine…I think.” While those were his words, his facial expression told a different story: How is my soul? What’s wrong with you? What kind of question is that?

In a lighthearted attempt to deepen conversation, I have even begun asking my teenage children the same question. Unsurprisingly, their reactions mirrored that of the man in Mesa—my three high schoolers simply laughed and walked away, offering comments such as, “What kind of question is that, Dad? I’m fine! Oh, and you’re not a bad dad, and, honestly…my soul is fine.”

Yet, I’m going to ask this awkward question… and hopefully, you won’t laugh at me or stop reading: How is your soul? Really? How is your soul?
I shouldn’t ask a question I’m not willing to answer myself. How is my soul? Well…it’s complex. My soul is complex. I feel so alive, like I’m on a grand adventure in leadership development… and I’m also keenly aware that the journey is perilous. Risk is all around. I’m on the grand adventure of being married for 20 years and trying to re-get to know my wife. I’m on the grand adventure of parenting three high schoolers, releasing them to Jesus. I’m on the grand adventure of running leadership development tests that are threatening to some in our church body. How is my soul? My soul is alive! Why? Because Jesus is the anchor of my soul! I pray you can say the same.

This raises an important question: What exactly is the soul? It’s a term not commonly addressed in modern culture, even within the church. In Scripture, two primary words are used for “soul”—נֶ֫פֶשׁ (nephesh) in the Old Testament and ψυχή (psychē) in the New Testament.

In summary, nephesh and psychē translate to “living being” (in the Old Testament) and “one who has life” (in the New Testament). Unfortunately, much of Platonic and Gnostic philosophy has sought to separate the body from the soul, promoting the idea that the body is flawed while the soul is virtuous. Plato famously suggested that “as long as we inhabit the body, our soul remains tainted by its imperfections, and thus we could never fully attain truth.”

Uh…no.

Our ultimate hope should not rest in escaping the body through death but in experiencing true, abundant, and complete life right here and now in our bodies—life that can withstand the inevitable storms we encounter.

Jesus is the anchor of our soul.

Look at the story from Mark 4:35-41. Jesus and His disciples face a fierce storm while out on the Sea of Galilee. As the storm reaches its height, Jesus remains asleep on a cushion in the stern of the boat. This prompts His disciples to question His care. Their boat is going to sink… and they’re all going to die! (They catastrophize the situation!) They didn’t think Jesus cared! Hah! Ridiculous. So they wake Jesus up.


This is a funny Bible story to me, though I don’t think it was funny to the disciples in the boat. What were they thinking Jesus was going to do? Probably help bail water from their sinking boat! They did not see this coming!

Jesus is not grumpy from being woken up. Jesus takes action. He commands the wind and waves to be still, demonstrating His power over creation. This account not only affirms the truth that Jesus is our Anchor, but also illustrates the protective and stabilizing presence He provides in our storms.

Jesus helps His disciples truly LIVE! Jesus is the Anchor for their soul.

I pray you’re grateful. I pray your soul is filled with joy, peace, and love! Jesus is near. Through the storms, you are cared for by the God who calms the sea.

Trust Him. He alone will give your soul life—life to the full.