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Unshakable

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Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:28-29

What do you see when you look in the mirror? An athlete, a thinker, an artist, a writer, a provider? Mother, father, son, daughter? You have been created with certain attributes that make you unique. But they aren’t all that you are. What do you see when your strength is gone, when your creative thinking is impaired or memory lost?  When relationships are severed by hurts or by death?

 

When we lived in Australia years ago, we became friends with a lady who lived down the street from us. I forget the reason but we stayed a night at her father’s house which offered a peaceful retreat for us. Margaret’s dad was known for his intellectual acuity.  As I recall, he had taught in the university and spoke five languages fluently. . . until he had a stroke. Now he was left without speech and physically impaired. Whether he still comprehended all those languages in his mind and just couldn’t express them, I don’t know. But he was obviously a changed man with a new identity. But despite the losses, there was something about him that was not stirred. His calm, peaceful, and welcoming nature remained unshaken. Imagine losing so much and retaining what really mattered.

 

The reality is that you and I live in a world that is easily shaken. Natural disasters, financial calamities, physical and mental illnesses, and relationships all strike quickly and unexpectedly ravish our minds and hearts, our bodies and possessions. Our very identities are shaken too. But we don’t have to be left without hope. If you have sincerely and whole heartedly taken on the identity of a devoted follower of Christ, something remains that circumstances cannot shake. Hope, love, compassion, mercy, faith.

 

A personal relationship with Jesus brings a kingdom and identity that cannot be shaken. Our peace of mind can be threatened but not overcome if our identity is truly in Jesus, and not the other things we typically see in the mirror.  No matter how frightening the storm around you bellows, no matter how devastating the disaster falls upon you, no matter what has been stripped away or is consumed in your life, focus on what remains: Faith, Hope, Love.

 

You belong to an unshakable kingdom. Put your whole trust in this one unshakable truth and find peace in the middle of whatever storms come your way.

Every Day Faith

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I remember flying back to our former home of Australia a few years back. It was 14 hours nonstop from LA to Sydney. Isn’t that crazy that you can fly 500 miles per hour anywhere without stopping?! The in-flight movie screens would flash a map on the screen every 2-3 hours showing where the plane was with respect to the whole journey. I remember waking up in my cramped coach seat thinking, “This is about all I can take of this. I hope we’re getting close.” Then the map appeared showing we were almost HALF way there! Of course, we passengers had no clue where we really were. There was no reference point visible from the windows, just clouds and ocean. And there was no way to change the situation. But the captain knew precisely where we were; using the instrument panel s/he skillfully kept us on course and brought us safely to our destination. That’s how faith works. You put your trust in the one who has power to keep you on course.

Have you ever been tempted by a desire to see the future? Especially in a troubling and uncertain position, have you ever asked, “How is this going to work out?” When is this going to resolve? But in the end, no one has figured out how to live two days at once, so we resolve to live one day at a time…by faith.

We all live by faith everyday. We live by faith that it won’t be the bridge WE drive across that fails, that our health will not falter, that our children will be well. Even the nonbeliever lives in tremendous faith that their beliefs will somehow reward them in the end. One of my favorite lines from the Facing the Giants movie is when the disappointed coach’s wife learns she still is NOT pregnant. Standing in the clinic parking lot, she lifts her eyes to heaven and says, “Even now I put my trust in you!”

How does your trust meter read these days? Especially in those areas of your life where you are not the captain of your fate, when you are powerless to change your course? Kirk Cameron is coming out with a movie late September called “Unstoppable” to examine how faith leads us through unthinkable situations. I hope you take opportunity to view it with a friend.

2 Corinthians 5:7 we walk by faith, not by sight.