It was more than a wind. It was a real tornado that twisted through the campground that summer day. There was a warning, but no one guessed it would be so severe. The people in the campground were travelers and had not been through a real tornado before.
When the storm struck, things were torn and twisted for a few minutes. Trees were uprooted, roofs were blown off, and rubble and furniture went flying about.
And then suddenly it was over. No one was killed, but as the owners began to look over the damage, the air was split with the cries of a young mother. “My baby! Where is my baby? Oh, my baby!” The baby’s crib had been tossed into a nearby garden, but it was empty. “Where is my baby?” the frantic mother cried. And no one knew.
I wonder if you know that the Bible has something to say about a storm, a storm of wrong information. Ephesians 4:1414That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; (Ephesians 4:14) warns us, “That we [from now on] be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine.” The baby in the campground was light enough to be tossed anywhere with no choice at all. How can we have enough weight to hold down firmly what the Bible says against what everybody thinks these days? There is danger of being tossed about by all the changes in people’s own ideas of God and His beloved Son, until we have no security at all. Maybe you’d like to forget the whole thing and get on with life, but there comes a time when this is impossible.
The crib was no security, and “my church” is no security either, or even my own thoughts, or the opinions of my friends. It must be what God has said! Read your Bible for security. Its Author is not dead, and He cares more about your soul than you care yourself. He has promised, “If any man will do [God’s] will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself ” (John 7:1717If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. (John 7:17)).
Anyone who is trusting God’s Word will not be tossed about by every wind of teaching, even if it comes with the force of a tornado.
At the same time as that poor mother was crying out for her lost baby, there was a family about a mile away who had felt the force of the tornado too. After the storm was gone, they went out to look over the damage. Nothing major . . . except . . . what is that in the crotch of that tree? A bundle of something that wasn’t there before. A baby! A real live baby - howling and unhurt!
It was some time before connections to the family were made by police radio and the baby was cuddled in the mother’s arms again. The story had a happy ending.
Will your life story have a happy ending too? Yes, if the Lord Jesus, as revealed in the Word of God, is your firm foundation, your Anchor, your Saviour. But if everybody’s ideas and opinions, every change in the devil’s menu for the day, has power to toss you about so that you don’t truly believe in the Lord Jesus, then your life story will not have a happy ending.
Will you trust Him now? He is the only security, now and forever.
ML-11/09/2003