What do you do when your world is shaken?
When me & my sister were kids we used to go to my grandmother’s house from time to time. My aunt & uncle lived next door & so we loved going there to visit. The best part was that they had a trampoline.
Back in those days trampoline’s didn’t have padding to cover the springs or a net around them to keep you from falling off. It’s a wonder we ever survived!
We used to play this game with our cousins on the trampoline called Break the Egg. Two people would sit on the trampoline, legs crossed, holding your toes. The other two people would jump.
The goal was to get the people sitting holding their toes to bounce so hard they had to let go of their toes. The first person to let go was the looser. Whoever could hold on & not let go was the winner!
Hold on Tight
I think life is like this for a lot of us. We’re trying to hold on tight & not let go but the world around us is shaking so violently it’s hard to hold on.
We’re holding on with both hands… then we get that one email from that one person & it sends us spiraling out of control.
We’re holding on with both hands… then we find out what happened to our kids, or with our kids, or something that happened that affects our kids & it sends us spiraling out of control.
We’re holding on with both hands… then we find out that we lost our job, or our spouse lost their job, & it sends us spiraling out of control.
We’re holding on with both hands… then we find out that we or someone we love is sick, it’s serious, & it sends us spiraling out of control.
We’re holding on with both hands… then we see the news that there’s been another school shooting. 23 so far this calendar year… and it feels like the world is spiraling out of control.
We’re holding on with both hands… then we hear about the refugee crisis, or another terrorist bombing in another part of the world, or we hear about people dying for their faith, or there’s another hurricane or volcanic eruption or tornado or natural disaster & it feels like the world around us is spiraling out of control.
Shaken
How do you hold on to your faith in an invisible God when everything that is visible is being shaken?
How do you worship an invisible God when everything that is visible is being shaken?
I think that is exactly what the preacher of Hebrews wants believers in Jesus to remember.
Even though the ground beneath your feet shakes, even though you tremble in fear, God is NOT SHAKEN.
For the original audience, Hebrews was written to Christians who were living in a time when the world around them is shaking. Some of them are being tortured because of their faith in Jesus. Some of them are being put in jail because of their faith in Jesus. Some of them are having their possessions taken away because of their belief in Jesus. Their world is shaking. Everything is being taken away.
But the writer of Hebrews reminds these believers in Jesus that there is hope, that they can hold on to faith, and here’s why…
Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire.
This is why you & I can worship when the world around us is shaken. This is why we can sing to God when the world is falling apart.
Because we have a King who is unshakable & we belong to a Kingdom that is unshakable.
[Tweet “You & I live in a world that is SHAKEN, but we BELONG to an UNSHAKABLE KINGDOM!”]Even when our lives are shaken, even when our faith is shaken, God is unshakable. And we can remain faithful because when everything is shaken only one thing remains. Only one thing stands firm. Only One is unshakeable. Our Father in heaven.
So when everything around you is shaken to the core, turn to the unshakable One who will not be moved.
[Tweet “When everything around you is shaken to the core, turn to the Unshakable One who will not be moved.”]I think this is why David once wrote…
“I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.” Psalm 16.8
Held
When your world shakes, the winners aren’t those who are able to hold on & not let go. The winners are those who are being held by the One who cannot be shaken.
It was Friday afternoon when Jesus spoke his last words & died on a common cross designed for a criminal.
That day, the cross won. Death won. The enemy won. At least it seemed that way.
When Jesus died that Friday, the ground shook. There was an earthquake. A Roman soldier who was standing nearby looked at Jesus as the ground shook beneath his feet & said, “Surely this man was the Son of God.”
They took his body down from that cross & placed him in a borrowed tomb.
Then, just three days later, on Sunday morning, the ground shook again.
There was another earthquake, so powerful that the large stone that was in front of the tomb was moved away from the opening.
Earthquakes, generally speaking, don’t move large rocks out of the way. They typically put rocks in the way! But when the earth shook that Sunday morning Jesus rose from the grave & walked out of that tomb.
Death didn’t win. It was defeated.
I say that because there is hope. There is always hope. Because Jesus is alive.
[Tweet “There is always hope because Jesus is alive.”]Sometimes you will be shaken. Your faith will be shaken. But you know an Unshakable God. You are loved by, you are held by, you are known by a Risen King who reigns over an Unshakable Kingdom!
And today, if you need hope… today, if the world around you is shaking & you don’t know if you can stay standing in the aftermath of the earthquake that is hitting your life… turn to Jesus.
Make Him the King of your life. When you do, it doesn’t mean that the ground will stop shaking, it just means that you have Someone there who will be by your side & never let you down.
When all is said & done, you will be standing with Jesus in the Unshakable Kingdom!
Now may the God of peace—
who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus,
the great Shepherd of the sheep,
and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood—
may he equip you with all you need
for doing his will.
May he produce in you,
through the power of Jesus Christ,
every good thing that is pleasing to him.
All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.
Blessing from Hebrews 13.20-21
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Want more from this series: Never Gonna Let Me Down
