It seems like our world is in free fall. Turmoil, unrest, hatred, strife, and division reign unchecked. As we try to sort out truth from fiction, uncertainty about the future is increasing too. We often don’t know what or whom to believe. The emergence of AI, human trafficking, identity theft, scams, and privacy breeches make us feel even more vulnerable.
Besides these challenges, we never know when we’ll experience the sudden death of a loved one, a debilitating illness, an irreversible economic loss, or a prolonged time of chronic pain and distress. Such heartaches exact both a physical and psychological toll on people of all ages. Even children are feeling stressed, anxious, and depressed, while an aging population is struggling with the devastating effects that come with growing old.
God’s people aren’t exempt from the tragedies, challenges, and uncertainties, of course. But here’s the good news. “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27). While Christians suffer the same adversities that people in the world do, we have a place of peace and comfort we can access, even in the middle of a storm. As Edward Mote’s hymn (“The Solid Rock”) declared,
“His oath, His covenant, His blood, support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.”
What can separate us from the love of God? the apostle Paul asks in Romans 8:35. Whatever difficulty we face, we can rejoice in this eternal truth: “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (v. 37)
A verse from Scripture that’s become important to me in recent years is Hebrews 12:28. “Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.” In the preceding verse, the writer reveals that God allows earthly (created) things to be removed. Why? So that “what cannot be shaken may remain.” This enables us to distinguish between what is earthly (uncertain) and what can be counted on as reliable and enduring (eternal).
What is eternal—given and sustained by God—cannot be reversed, changed, taken away, or abolished. If our lives are “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3), we are members of His body. As Abigail told David in 1 Samuel 25:29, “Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my lord will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the Lord your God.”
Christians are like the people on Noah’s ark. We’re surrounded on all sides by devastation and destruction, but we’re safely tucked away with God. We feel the rocking as waves of rain and wind press against us. Like the disciples in the boat with Jesus, we may think the storm will wipe us out, but because the Lord is with us, we’re not going down. “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life” (Psalm 138:7).
Everything we may be counting on—economic conditions, political leaders, our personal wealth, possessions, careers, health, and our relationships with other people—can change or be gone in a moment. Anything earthly CAN be shaken, but God’s promises, underwritten by His holy character and immutability, are eternal. We can rely on His promises found in Scripture because they’ve been made by One who is holy, all powerful, and trustworthy. Amid calamity and chaos, danger and uncertainty, HE IS unshakable.
We’re called to something far higher than anything this world has to offer. We’re destined to reign with Christ! Focusing on this reality enables us to adopt Paul’s attitude towards the challenges we face in life. “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32).
When emotions threaten to spoil our joy, when we feel fearful, anxious, frustrated, or bewildered by the condition of the world or the circumstances of our lives, we must remind ourselves of what’s eternal, lasting, and of utmost importance. We belong to the unshakable God, who strengthens us and makes us unshakable too.
Heartaches, challenges, and difficulties serve important purposes. That’s why God allows them. First, they reveal what’s shakable and what isn’t. Secondly, they test our faith. “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:6-7). Third, they give us the opportunity to lovingly serve, stand with, and encourage other members of His body. As we experience life together, sharing in our sorrows and joys with other Christians, we build each other up and we’re reminded we aren’t alone. “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).
God’s desire is for us to live wholeheartedly for Him, knowing that “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea” (Psalm 46:1-2).
Help me, Lord, to trust you fully even when my sea is turbulent and my future is uncertain. Thank you for your written Word that reminds me of your faithful love, your all-surpassing power, and your eternal truths. By the power of your Spirit, help me to keep moving forward despite how I feel from day to day. In the matchless name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
