Key points
- 1
1Anchor yourself in God's presence — He does not keep us from shipwrecks, but He is with us through them.
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2Anchor yourself in God's promise — trust what His Word says more than what you see in the storm.
A story from life
Preacher attended the Diamondbacks' inaugural game, missed the 2001 World Series, then kept the original hat and shirt for 25 years waiting for another chance — worn to the game the next day
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3Anchor yourself in God's plan — storms do not excuse us from our purpose; they are often the means God uses to reposition us for it.
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4Anchor yourself in God's power — God's power does not always stop the problem, but it preserves us through it and uses our faith to rescue others.
“God uses storms to reposition us for his call and his purpose. God always uses storms to reposition”
“You're angry because you're afraid. And you're afraid because you want what you want, but you really want and need what God wants to give you. But you can't figure out how to give him what he's asking for without losing what you think you need so badly”
Illustration
John Maxwell's 'two buckets' picture — people choose to throw either water or gasoline on a fire when facing conflict
A story from life
Preacher describes his lifelong struggle with financial anxiety, tracing it to his father's job loss when he was a child, and connects it to his stress over the church's building campaign
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5Our purpose in every storm is the same as Paul's: point people to Jesus by loving them like Jesus, building lifeboats rather than analyzing the iceberg.
“the ship is already sinking. This world is shipwrecked and doesn't even know it. It's the Titanic. It's hit the iceberg. Our job is not to stop the iceberg. Our job is not to go analyze the iceberg. Our job is not to argue about the iceberg. Our job is not to run around the deck telling everyone, you know what? We're all gonna die, you're stupid. Our job is to calmly be the crew and build more lifeboats and point people to the lifeboats”
“You will never get out of that problem what God wants to give you through that problem if you avoid your purpose during that problem”
- 6
6Fear — not circumstances — is the primary reason believers stop serving, giving, and living out their purpose during hard seasons.
A story from life
Preacher's father, a combat soldier in three wars including Iwo Jima, Inchon, and the Tet Offensive, described how assuming he was already dead freed him from constant fear
“Anchor yourself in faith, not fear. When the ship seems to be sinking and breaking apart, we need to be anchored in faith, not fear”
“God doesn't keep us away from shipwrecks. He doesn't take them around. What he does is he's with us through it”
A story from life
Pastor's eldest daughter enjoyed the gym childcare so much she refused to leave, leading staff to question whether her parents were really her parents
Application
Pastor Bill's challenge is direct and personal: sit down and honestly ask yourself, "Am I anchored in faith or fear right now?" If you find yourself angry at the world, anxious about the future, or checked out from serving and giving, trace that feeling back to its root — it is almost always fear. The antidote is not more information about what is happening in the world, but a deeper embrace of who is with you in it. Practically, that means staying in God's Word, leaning into community, and refusing to use the storm as an excuse to step back from your purpose. Your purpose — knowing Jesus, growing with others, and going into your everyday world to point people to Him — does not pause when life gets hard. If anything, that is exactly when it matters most.
