Have you ever seen the bitter end? The bitter end is not exactly what you think, even though it feels that way. The term “bitter end” comes from the name of the end part of an anchor rope. It is called the bitter end because anchor lines used to and sometimes still attach to the “bitts” which are the strongest part of a ship. It is where the anchor holds you! Without the bitts you are all that is there to hold onto the anchor line when the water is too deep for the anchor to reach the bottom.
Why would you even drop an anchor if you weren’t sure it could hit the bottom? The anchor is dropped sometimes when the ship is adrift in a storm, or is otherwise out of control. When there is nothing left to do you can throw out the anchor and pray for things to work out. To be at the bitter end is to be at the end of your rope.
Imagine holding onto the last hope with all of your strength, unsure of how it will all work out. Maybe you don’t need to imagine, perhaps you can remember, or even worse, you are there today. If your rope and anchor are your faith are they strong enough to get you through the trial?
Jesus is not our anchor, but our “Bitts.” Faith in Christ is not the means by which God makes us strong enough to keep holding on. It is how he makes us strong enough to let go. Christ is strong enough to hold on to us, even when we are too weak to hold on. Where God dwells in you through his Holy Spirit you are strongest. He will hold fast and never let go until you arrive in safer water, and the storm has passed. I pray for all in the midst of overwhelming trials that you remember that at the bitter end you fear, Christ himself will grant you sweet salvation.
In Christ’s Freedom,
