The Anchor in the Shift

“This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.” — Hebrews 6:19 NLT

It certainly doesn’t feel like fall yet here in Kentucky. The temperatures have been reaching into the upper 90s, and summer seems to be hanging on for dear life.

But out on our farm, I’m noticing something different. Some of the leaves are beginning to yellow, and every now and then, one releases and gently and quietly floats to the ground. The calendar may say summer, and the temperature certainly agrees, but creation is already giving us little signs that a shift is coming.

One afternoon, I watched a hawk soaring near our home. As I looked up, I noticed a single yellow leaf floating gracefully nearby. For just a moment, the hawk and the leaf seemed to share the same space. One was soaring while the other was gently making its way to the ground. I couldn’t help but stop and watch. Something was shifting.

Maybe that’s one reason this time of year has always felt significant to me. Looking back over my life, it seems God has often used this season to prepare me for something new. On August 7, 2005, I experienced a shift I will never forget. I was sitting in a church service when I clearly sensed the Lord speaking directly to my heart: “You are to heal My people through the physical exercises I have given you. Heal My people and receive your gift.”

This directive had to be written down. I started digging through my purse, looking for anything I could find. Back then, I didn’t carry a little notebook with me like I do now. Finally, buried at the bottom of my purse there was an old receipt. That receipt became my writing paper. I didn’t fully understand what God was asking of me. I didn’t know what “heal My people” would look like or where this new calling would lead. But I knew something had shifted in my spirit.

So, I did what I knew to do; praying and studying God’s Word, thanking Him for leading me into a new season, while continuing to take the next step. Isaiah 30:21 says, “Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, ‘This is the way you should go,’ whether to the right or to the left.” God didn’t hand me a blueprint that day. He simply asked for my next YES.

Even the name came one step at a time. While our family was brainstorming possibilities, God used one of my children to suggest, “What about Shaped by Faith?” Eventually, Shaped by Faith moved into media with my first exercise DVD, Pilates for the Soul. Over the years, God continued to shift the ministry in ways I never could have planned or imagined, opening doors into television and streaming, and later into radio and podcasting. With each new season, He simply asked me to take another step of faith.

Now, more than two decades later, I can see something I couldn’t possibly see while sitting in that church service. God knew where He was leading me. Isn’t that so often how He works? We want to see the entire plan. We want God to show us where the road leads before we’re willing to take the first step. But faith doesn’t always come with a blueprint.

Sometimes God gives us enough light for the next step and asks us to trust Him with everything beyond it. That’s why we need an anchor in the shift. Our seasons change. Our families change. Our bodies change. Our plans, careers, ministries and circumstances can all change. Sometimes the shift is exciting. Other times, we would do almost anything to keep things exactly as they are. But God does not change.

Hebrews 13:8 reminds us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Being anchored in Christ doesn’t mean we never move. It means we know Who holds us steady when He asks us to move. Maybe you’re sensing a shift in your own life right now. Perhaps, like those first yellow leaves on our farm, you’re only seeing small signs. You don’t know exactly what God is doing or where He’s leading.

You don’t have to know where God’s calling will lead. You simply need to be faithful with the next yes. Sometimes He asks us to release. Sometimes He asks us to rise. Either way, we can trust the One who holds us steady.

Seasons will shift, but our Anchor remains.