God is Shaking Us
God is shaking us! He certainly is. God is sovereign, which means that nothing happens outside of His permission. All biblical signs point to this pandemic and its commensurate emotional, social, and economic fallout as one of the types of mechanisms that the Lord has used in ancient and recent history, does use on an ongoing basis, and will use to the fullest degree in the future to gain the attention of sinners and reignite the hearts of those who are His. The Church of Jesus Christ in America as a whole has gone dim, though we are called to shine the light of Jesus as bright as the sun. We are too full of ourselves and what we want, and we are continually running to God to fit into the plan we have for our lives. We want Him to serve us, to make us feel good about ourselves. We remain on the throne, even as we call Him the King.
Collectively, this time has forced many churches to be stripped of dependence on crowds, noise, fancy stages, special effects, and instant human accolades. We are being forced to depend on the one thing – the one Person – on whom we should have always depended – the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus Himself said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all.” (John 6:63)
Think about it, perhaps many people falsely believe that they are “okay” with God because of the facade of the flesh. Maybe all of the things that we have attempted to use to “bring people to church” may not actually have been bringing them to God. God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29), so when He truly comes into a life, he begins to take it over, until – one day -nothing is left but His glory.
I fear that too many “Christians” are letting God “fit into their lives” to make them happier, more comfortable, or more successful; rather than seeing that each one of us is actually supposed to fit into God’s plan, and be a flame that is burned up so that all may exalt Jesus and rejoice in His aim for the universe.
Individually, this time has forced many people to examine their lives and hearts. Thankfully, people are asking questions and looking to see what God or His Word might have to do with everything. My question is, are we ready to answer with solid truth, not “feel-good hype.” Obviously, these are tough times, and people aren’t going to buy the easy answers. Let’s dig deep into God’s Word and let Jesus say what needs to be said.
Even we who call ourselves Christians need to continually examine ourselves and fall before God Almighty, asking His Spirit to reveal what sin needs dealt with and what areas of life are out of alignment with God’s glory. We need to get serious as to exactly what the Lord has called us to be and called us to do.
Here it is in a nutshell. This world is going down. Do not put your trust in it. Do not put trust in yourself. Churches, do not depend on the flesh; repent if necessary, and depend on the Holy Spirit.
If you think this time of shaking is bad, wait until God shakes not only the earth, but the heavens. On that final day, everything that is not rightly related to Him will be destroyed. I urge you to read the following verses of the Bible, pray over them, and talk to the Lord today.
– Shelli Prindle
“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.” (Hebrews 12:26-29)