When God Shakes Things Up

Kinship Radio’s theme for Share this year is, “Unshakable Faith.”

 

If you search the Bible for terms related to shaking, you will find hundreds of references. I think it can honestly be said there is a whole lotta shakin’ going on throughout Scripture and it often has to do with God shaking things up. Here’s Isaiah 52:2:

 

“Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, Daughter Zion, now a captive.” (NIV)

 

It’s a very interesting passage (and chapter) because it’s generally thought to apply both to the Babylonian captives and to the end times.

 

In Haggai 2:6&7, God says:

 

“For this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: In just a little while I will again shake the heavens and the earth, the oceans and the dry land. I will shake all the nations, and the treasures of all the nations will be brought to this Temple. I will fill this place with glory, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies” (NLT)

 

Indeed, shaking is referred to again and again as a precursor to Christ’s return. Here’s Amos 9:9:

 

“For I will give the command and will shake Israel along with the other nations as grain is shaken in a sieve, yet not one true kernel will be lost.” (NLT)

 

The prophet Zechariah tells of a mighty, unforgettable shaking when Christ returns. Here’s Zechariah 14:4:

 

“On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives will split apart, making a wide valley running from east to west. Half the mountain will move toward the north and half toward the south.”

 

We have seen a lot of shaking in our world lately. The very foundations of our society seem to be shaking and unstable –not just in wars and rumors of wars, but in culture, in morals, in the very way people think about God, and in the level of persecution of God’s people. 

 

And I am reminded of Paul and Silas in prison, singing hymns and praising the LORD. They’d been beaten with rods and put in chains for having the temerity to cast a (very profitable) demon out of a slave girl. Acts 16:25-28 tells what happened next: 

 

“Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!”

 

That jailer and his whole family go on to be saved as a result of that shaking. 

 

Every indication in these passages is that Paul and Silas were anything but discouraged, defeated, and/or dejected for having been thrown in prison. The way I read this, they were up until midnight rejoicing at being counted worthy of punishment on behalf of Christ. It’s also clear they didn’t bear any animosity toward the jailer as Paul cried out to keep him from killing himself. Paul and Silas were far more concerned with saving that jailer’s soul than they were with escaping with their own lives! 

 

So, when you hear prayer and praise and singing on Kinship Radio in the midst of all that is going on in this shaken world around us, know that what you are hearing comes to you with great joy because we know how this all turns out in the end. We know that what we are involved in is wider and longer and higher and deeper than we can think or imagine. We know in whom our hope is found, and that makes our faith in the outcome of what we do and what you hear everyday absolutely unshakable. 

 

 

Today’s Praise

Hebrews 12: 26-29

When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. 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.” (NLT)