Hebrews 12:26-27 says, “26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”[e] 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.”
It’s interesting how pressure seems to shake us isn’t it? When I think of pressure I think of golf. There have been a ton of times when I have tried certain swing changes in my yard and they have worked beautifully. I’ve learned over the years however, to not trust a swing change until it is proven on the course. Something happens when I get out there and if the swing change I made wasn’t legit, it will fail when the pressure is on.
I would imagine that all of us want to live a life that doesn’t crack under pressure. It is in trials and storms that we find out what works and what doesn’t work. It is in trials and storms that we find out what can be shaken and what cannot be shaken. Sometimes it is in a trial that we realize that a relationship that we depended on is actually quite shakable. We may find that when the heat gets turned up, a lot of things that we thought we could depend on are actually not all that helpful. It may be an addiction….a religious belief….a friendship….money…the house…the retirement plan….it could be a lot of different things. The bottom line is that trials, storms, internal and external pressures have a way of shaking things that can be shaken.
I have to be honest and say that I don’t like being shaken. I actually sometimes try to live in such a way so as to not be shaken at all. I try to avoid situations, people and things that challenge me. I don’t do this all the time but it is a tendency I have to deal with. I am beginning to find however, that trials can be quite helpful. Looking back at the passage above we can see that it is God’s intention to shake those things in our lives that can be shaken. He doesn’t do this to just mess with us…he does it “so that what cannot be shaken may remain.”
I would encourage you to become a student in the midst of trials and storms. It is super easy to just complain and try to come up with a plan so that you will never have to go through anything again. The reality that we all have to embrace is that trials are going to come. We can either hopelessly fight against them or we can choose to learn from them. In trials I would encourage you to pay attention to the things that can be shaken and the things that cannot.
You may have certain self-manufactured theological beliefs that don’t matter at all when trials come. These are beliefs that you have made up for yourself but you realize when the heat gets turned up that they are not really valuable. I have learned some different things from being shaken over the years…
I don’t have faith in a religion. I don’t have faith in my ability to have faith. I don’t have ultimate faith in my intelligence. My faith is based solely in the person of Jesus Christ. The reason that this is the case is because he hasn’t been shaken in my trials. My entire being has been shaken at times but it has been abudantly obvious that he is the constant. He has shown that he can provide the strength and peace to see me through anything life can throw at me. This is not something that I just woke up one day and realized. I have weathered enough storms and have paid attention to what can be shaken and what cannot be shaken.
Become a student in your trials. What can be shaken? What cannot be shaken? Make sure your faith is in that which cannot be shaken.
