A number of years ago, I was asked by my cousin if I wanted to go boating with her husband and her. We agreed, and loaded up our things and went to meet them at the river near us. My cousin’s husband was mechanically minded, and everything he owned went fast! We got into their boat and started out. It was a great day, and we were enjoying going back-and-forth on the river. My cousin then started to water-ski. After a bit, she asked if I wanted to try it. I had never water-skied before, and with a few short instructions, I found myself behind that very fast boat with ski’s strapped to my feet, holding onto a handle, connected to a rope, connected to the boat.
My first attempt failed, and a few more instructions followed. On my second attempt, I struggled and fought, but I got up on the ski’s and I was going. After about twenty seconds I figured out how to move outside the wake of the boat, and we went up the river, and back down the river. We turned again and started back again, and I began to feel my legs getting wobblily. I started to wonder how long this was going to last. About that time, my cousin yelled back to me … “Aren’t you getting tired?” To which I emphatically yelled … “Yeah!” She laughed and yelled … “Let go of the rope!” I wish they had explained that rule to me earlier.
Sometimes I think we need to have someone call out to us in our difficulties … “Don’t let go of the rope!” Marriages are ending all around us because people simply let go of the rope … church members leave because they let go of the rope … Pastors leave the ministry because they let go of the rope. Today I read, “They had almost consumed me upon earth; but I forsook not thy precepts” (Psalm 119:87). Letting go of the ski rope was my solution to exhaustion, but letting go of the principles of the Word of God is not a solution to anything.
I remember my arms aching from holding onto that ski rope, but my fingers remained clenched on that small handle. I want the same to be true of me with the Word of God. While others may bail out at the first sign of a struggle, I want to hold firmly to the Word of God. Regardless of how many movie-stars mock the Bible, or how many TV preachers tell me things that are not in the Scriptures, or how many other people give up on Bible convictions; I want to continue to hold on to the Word of God as my connection with God. I have noticed that people who are skilled at water-skiing can do many things with different ski’s and boards and things; but they all need to hold onto the rope if they want the power of the boat to pull them. I want to hold onto my source of strength today; the Word of God!