Give Your Life Stability

        Placed along the sidewalk in our yard are six stones, each 10 to 12 inches in size. They are meaningful to me in that as a child I often played with them, they were my toys. They have two other reasons for me. They were found on the farm of my great grandfather for one. They were not local rocks. The story told me is that they came from a region in Europe. They were used as ballast on sailing ships. Sailing vessels of a bygone era had a tendency to tip over in bad weather. Rocks were put in the belly of the ship to serve as ballast and give the ship stability.

        An old saying has its origin referring to them. The rocks aboard the ship were placed leaving a walkway between them and the walls of the vessel. The rolling of the ship in heavy seas often caused some of them to shift. This could injure or kill a sailor. The expression “don’t get caught between a rock and a hard place” originated as a result.

        Aside from that, there is a better illustration resulting from the rocks as a ballast. Every life needs a spiritual ballast for stability. Other than the Lord Himself His word, the Bible, gives life stability amid the storms of life.

        Isaiah’s wisdom shared with his people is still pertinent today. “Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, And the strength of salvation…” (Isaiah 33: 6). Both give stability when the winds of adversity blow, as they are certain to do. Knowing that, why not get them “on board” in advance. They are certain to be needed. Don’t wait for the storm.

        There is good news. There is a sufficient supply available for the asking.

        “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (James 1: 5 – 8).

        There is a functional process. First, get the ballast of the word of the Lord on board. “Study to shew yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Timothy 2: 15).

        Develop your own plan for reading and memorizing the Scripture. There are a number of good plans available on the Internet.     

        Summarily it is said of the Bible, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (II Timothy 3:16).  

         Corrie ten Boom, who suffered the anguish and depravity of Nazi persecution, said of her ballast, “I’ve experienced His presence in the deepest hell that man can create. . . . I have tested the promises of the Bible, and believe me, you can count on them.”