I find myself sitting in my childhood home pondering the circumstances that have temporarily brought me back “home” to help out my parents. It really is amazing how unstable life can be with all the unseen challenges that come out of nowhere. It is not uncommon to become shaken by a crisis. But God’s Word reminds us of the stability that the follower of Jesus has in Christ.
It seems that everywhere we turn we see a world on the precipice of destruction. It could be the threats of Global annihilation. It could be National level issues or even personal level problems. Maybe our perspective changes as we get older. As kids we enjoyed building forts in the trees on my parent’s property. All it took was a hammer, nails and some scrap wood and we were off building our version of Fort Knox. We never considered the stability of our project. It was not common to build a ladder with boards nailed to the tree with only two nails. No, they were not stable, and sometimes they did give out on the climb! The tree house, ten feet up the tree, was just as rickety! I guess the innocence of childhood blinded us to the risk of our unstable world.
One of the blessings of knowing Christ is our confidence despite a broken world. Our relationship with Him transfers our need to have control of situations and circumstances instead to trust in what Christ has done for us. I was recently hit with this truth from a passage in Hebrews. The writer reflects on the overwhelming experiences of Israel’s encounter with God on Mount Sinai during the Exodus from Egypt. Their experience was one of holy fear. But it is difference for us today in the age of grace. We are reminded of our residency in the heavenly Jerusalem through Christ. He writes, “and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God,” (Hebrews 12:23a). The word “enrolled” speaks of our citizenship in heaven. While we will not fully realize it until we go to be with the Lord, we do enjoy all the rights and privileges of heaven while living in an unstable world.
The author of Hebrews continues, “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28–29). The reason we can live with confidence is because our eternity is secure in Christ. It also allows us to live above the strife and challenges that constantly swirl around us.
Let me encourage you to consider two challenges necessary for living an unshakeable life that comes from our position in Christ. First, is to be grateful. Can I encourage you to exchange the whining for thanksgiving? We know that God is not only going to take us to heaven, but we also know that He is working in us and through us now!
The second challenge is to worship. Work on exchanging worry for worship. I am reminded of the Psalmist’s struggle living in a broken world. Nothing changed until he chose to worship! “But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.” (Psalm 73:16–17).
-Pastor Joe Parkinson