All Shook Up

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.”(Heb. 12:28-29).

We’re not as solid as we seem.

Over the past several years, storms and tsunamis of many kinds have shown that our structures of security are easily shaken. Roofs have been ripped away. Homes and households have fallen apart. The stock market has turned and tumbled. The Twin Towers toppled. And our own souls have quaked and quivered in disappointment and pain.

Unlike Elvis, it’s not love that has us all shook up; it’s life—but it is a life controlled by a sovereign God with a sacred purpose. As He started forming the nation of Israel, God’s voice “shook the earth”(Heb. 12:26a), and He has promised that at the end of time, “Once more will I shake not only the earth but also the heavens”(Heb. 12:26b). God didn’t create earth to last—only eternity, and in this in between He uses tumults and tremors to refine His own and reach those not yet His.

As our domiciles or our dreams lie in ruin, perhaps part of His point is to remind us that troubles are temporary, but He is timeless. As kings and kingdoms falter and fall around us, we can be sure that the One who holds our faith—and our fate—will never fail. “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe”(Heb. 12:28-29).

Mouth-gaping gratitude for such a gift should give way to abandoned worship as we honor God for who He is and what He has done. Be astounded that One so mighty cares for one so minute—and such a mess! Be amazed that as you weeble and wobble, His strength supports you, His grace sustains you, and His love never leaves you alone. You are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken!! Don’t just mumble some token line about the good Lord being a big help, but fall to your knees in absolute awe that “the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and His truth endures forever”(Ps. 100:5).

It doesn’t take much to make us quake, but nothing gets God all shook up.
Stand on the Solid Rock.