There are stories about farmers in the American Midwest who would tie ropes from their houses to their barns when a big wind storm was coming.

The rope helped them find their way and not get swept away. If they were in the house and needed to check on the animals, they could do so. If they were in the barn but needed to get back to the house safely, they could do so.

I think you know where I’m going with this.

The winds of our world are not insignificant. We too need something stabilizing. We need something which will ensure we don’t get swept away by the uncertainty, fear, trauma, violence, and lawlessness.

I’m referring to God. And the primary place we learn about him is in the Scriptures. Only when we are firmly rooted in the truths of the Bible can we know which way to go; only then will we know how to live by the right priorities; only then we will we know how to truly love one another; only then will we know who God is and how he wants us to live.

In a warning to his readers in 1 Peter 2:8 (ESV), the apostle says: “They stumble because they disobey the word…”

There is a relationship between stumbling and disobeying the word. This isn’t to say that those of us who are proactive and consistent in studying the Bible never slip up. But when you do, you have a rope in the storm, and are better off than going toe-to-toe with a whirlwind.

If some people stumble because they disobey the word, others will find firm footing because they learn and respond in Christ.

Count yourself among them. 

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