By Carol Round – “All of creation will be shaken and removed so that only unshakable things will remain”—Hebrews 12:27 (NLT).
It was 1987 when I learned Oklahoma has a series of fault lines running through our state. When I heard this, I laughed in disbelief at the agent promoting earthquake insurance. I associated earthquakes with California, not Oklahoma.
Twenty-two years later, I wasn’t laughing when our state experienced its first noticeable earthquake, at least in my lifetime. Late one evening, while I was reading a book, my bed began to vibrate. “Nah,” I thought, “I’m just imagining things.”
Then, it happened again. This time the shaking was stronger. What was going on? I turned on the TV to a news station reporting we were experiencing an earthquake in parts of the state. Since that time, our state has experienced significantly stronger earthquakes.
When Our World is Shaken
Natural disasters—from earthquakes and floods to storms and droughts—affect millions of people every year and threaten our planet. Our faith can be shaken if we experience one of these events. However, it’s not just nature that can cause us to question our faith.
Recently, a mother and her young daughter visited our free clothes closet where I volunteer. As they shopped, the mother shared her story of being homeless for two months. I didn’t want to pry about their circumstances, but she revealed her husband was starting a new job that day. They’d also had help locating a permanent place to live. She was grateful for the assistance we, as well as other resources in our community, were providing for their family of four to get back on their feet.
While her faith had been shaken, her attitude of gratitude was an example to us and other shoppers that if we have Christ in us, we can have unshakeable faith. Through the generosity of others, she’d learned we can have confident faith in knowing Jesus, our rock and mighty fortress, will never leave us nor forsake us. And that’s a promise.
The Promise of Eternal Life
We can’t escape the trials in life. It doesn’t matter if it’s on an international level or in our personal lives. None of us is immune.
In her book titled, Unshakable, Christine Caine writes, “The Bible assures us it doesn’t matter what happens politically, morally, socially, or economically in the world around us if we have Jesus Christ in us—if we have the kingdom of God within us—because with Christ and in Christ, we can have unshakable faith.”
With Christ in us, we grow in our faith—an unshakable faith. Overcoming the roadblocks of despair when our loved ones choose the wrong path, when we lose our job, or when our finances won’t stretch until the end of the month requires us to believe there is something better ahead. That unshakable belief is the promise of eternal life through a loving God.
I always love hearing from my readers. Please e-mail me at [email protected] with your thoughts or visit my blog for more inspiration at www.carolaround.com. If you need a speaker or workshop leader, contact me at the above e-mail address or through my website. I’d be delighted to hear from you.
Photo credit: p4cm.com
