5 Days to Get Motivated to Read the BibleНамуна

Having considered the Bible as both a lamp that guides and a sword that corrects, we’ll now look at the Bible as the rock that gives us stability.

I don’t need to tell you that we live in an unstable world. In recent years we have seen pandemics, wide-ranging social unrest, many acts of random violence, and political conflict across the world. Depending on where you live, you may have been threatened by tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, or earthquakes. You may live under the threat of persecution from political or religious extremists, and you may feel dismayed by the dramatically changing values in the culture in which you live. In your personal life, you may have faced financial uncertainty, major health crises, the dissolving of relationships with family members or those who were once friends, or just the day-to-day pressures of work. All of the above can lead to feelings of emotional vulnerability or instability. It is hard to walk where there is no stability.

Yet here we find another great gift in God’s Word and a corresponding motivation to read it on a regular basis. In the modern world, we often lay a foundation when building a house. When my wife and I built our house in Tennessee, we first had a “footing” (a trench filled with concrete) put down where all of the supporting walls of the house would be. This gave the house stability so that the walls would not shift or move with time and tremors. In the ancient world, builders (Remember that Jesus and his father Joseph were builders.) dug down in the earth to find a solid rock to build on. Or they at times would put rocks or blocks down to provide a stable foundation for a house.

Jesus said that his words are like a rock under a house assaulted by a violent climate, rain, wind, and rivers pounding relentlessly. Do you ever feel like that in your life? As if you are being pounded by forces in the world, whether global or local, social or personal? I do. Jesus said that when we hear and act on his words, those words give us stability in such a world, and that is an amazing gift. God’s Word gives us a sense of place in the world as God’s people and a confidence in the face of massive uncertainties. He is with us, and he is not surprised by the challenges. He speaks to us words of perspective and comfort and hope.

The stability given by the Word should motivate us to read it consistently.