He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken
For whatever reason, shaking has came to my heart much recently. When I look it up, to shake means to tremble in fear and caused to quake (Strongs #7493) [1], totter, move, lose its stability and/or caused to be dislodged. [1] Makes me think of what I read in Ezra last week.
“No one who waits on you will ever be ashamed. We will not be shaken. We will be like Mount Zion” sings.
An example of people being caused to shake in fear and repentance is in Ezra when the conviction came upon the people strongly because of their sin and turning from God. Ezra fasted and mourned for the exiles who had been so unfaithful to God.
Ezra 10:7-9, “Then he [Ezra] sent a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the former exiles must gather in Jerusalem. If any of them didn't come within three days as the leaders and the older men had advised. Then they would lose all their property and be excluded from the community of former exiles.
Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered within three days in Jerusalem. On the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people sat in the courtyard of Elohim's temple. They were trembling (ra ad, Strongs #7460) because of this matter and shivering because of the heavy rain.”
When the first disciples of Christ lost all their property and were excluded from the community, they did not come running shaking and trembling. Rather they were scattered to spread the gospel filled with joy, freedom and generosity.
Shaking seems to be more about being knocked off center from our own sense that we have everything in order. It seems to have more to do with those who have turned from God are convicted and ready to repent.
and human pride humbled;
the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,
and the idols will totally disappear.
and to holes in the ground
from the fearful presence of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty,
when he rises to shake the earth.
In that day people will throw away
to the moles and bats
their idols of silver and idols of gold,
which they made to worship.
They will flee to caverns in the rocks
and to the overhanging crags
from the fearful presence of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty,
when he rises to shake the earth.
who have but a breath in their nostrils.
Why hold them in esteem?”
Over and over, the end times speak of this shaking. Yet what also seems clear is that when we are looking up to Christ and standing firm on the Rock we will not be shaken.
Isaiah 54:10 says, “'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,' says the LORD, who has compassion on you.”
In the center of God's love and will is a place we can stand firm without any fear. Psalm 46:1-3 says that those who are standing in Christ as a refuge and strength will be unafraid:
“Elohim is our Refuge and strength,
an ever present help in times of trouble.
That is why we are not afraid
even when the earth quakes
or the mountains topple into the depths of the sea.
Water roars and foams, and mountains shake at the surging waves.”
Even better than not having any fear is that where there are areas we are standing in our own self sufficiency and strength, shaking will be dislodge us from the lies we are standing in to gain freedom as we turn from our old ways. And if our foundation is on anything other than Christ, this will topple.
In Matthew 7:24-27 Jesus says, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Steven Covey noted in some of his material that sometimes we can climb a ladder only to get to the top and find it is leaning against the wrong wall. We put all our effort into getting somewhere only to find that when we arrive, we are not at all where we really hoped to be – left unfulfilled. We then have to start over.
For instance, someone can build their career on making successful music only to finally taste success and feel the emptiness and lack of fulfillment from it.
What is even worse to climbing a ladder and finding it is against the wrong wall is to never find out our ladder is leaning in the wrong direction. If one climbs a ladder, arrives and thinks they made it, they may stay in this place of facade living a lie and covering up how empty they feel.
While it may feel painful to be dislodged and moved off from what we thought was going to fill us, it is incredibly merciful and full of love. As we experience the crumbling of the foundation that we thought would hold us up, we are set free to move in a new and better direction.
Ezekiel 38:20 says something very close to Psalm 46 about that day, "The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground."
As an example from my own life, I remember when I was saved. I had this idea that I knew how to manage life and could do so well. Up to that point I had done really well at everything I applied myself to. Then suddenly something changed.
Things started happening in my life and I could no longer count on my self-sufficiency as I could in the past. It was an extremely humbling time in my life where I wasn't sure I could do anything right. I became depressed and was suddenly unsure of myself. It felt like all those things I held to were crumbling all around me.
In the midst of feeling totally knocked off center, Christ came into my life. It was the strangest time in my life because in the midst of my life being overturned, I suddenly found this treasure... I discovered this meaning to life that I had never known.
And I had huge walls up in my life. At one time I determined that no one could be trusted and I made a vow not to let anyone in. Then shortly after this, my father was dying of cancer. I was so overwhelmed and grieved. We had a difficult relationship and suddenly all the pain of what wasn't that I so longed to have with him came to the surface.
I had grown up with this 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps' and 'big girls don't cry' mentality. But suddenly I was way over my head. I had already struggled with bouts of depression. But a depression came upon me as all this stuff started coming up that was so severe I was becoming incapacitated.
In the midst of all of this, I was totally broken and afraid. It felt like every mountain of pride and self-sufficiency toppling into the sea. I realized I was unable to keep everyone out at this point. I was going to have to trust and let a few people in no matter how painful it seemed.
I started by just letting one person in. And as I trusted God in it, walls began to come down. While this terrifying time for me and I definatly felt shaken, God met me in it powerfully.
I share this only because it felt very much to me like mountains being overturned, cliffs crumbling and every wall falling to the ground. It was not something I wanted to happen and felt really difficult and terrifying at the time. But at the core of it was this relentless jealous love who was fighting for my heart.
Lord, I pray the words of a friend: “ Come, Holy Spirit; shake us to our core; move us from our brokenness and our idols, and establish us ever more firmly in faithfulness and love for God; and then bring Your Kingdom, do Your works through us that will heal and restore.”
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