SHAKEN OR SECURE?

The world systems are being shaken, and they are being shown to be as unstable as the people who built them. These systems, designed to bring stability to human life, are like idols of old, false gods. We have human constructs that seem reasonable, and we are told to believe that they can save us when things go awry. But as old ones topple over, new ones are forged and tacked precariously in place.

But the world and its systems, things we are told we can rely on, like power, prestige, riches, education cannot securely define humanity. The world is being shaken and so we find more and more "idols" are being constructed, being built by people who are not stable, who themselves are being shaken.

Idolatry, the things of our own creation tend toward autonomy, attempts at establishing a sense of self based on things that can be and are being shaken. This produces an endemic sense of confusion, who we are, what we are, and why we are here in the first place. We try to grab a sense of self and gather in conclaves of instability ill-defined by things like politics, power brokering, material acquisition, gender confusion, or antisemitism.

Our attempts fail miserably because we cannot manufacture a stable sense of self because we are not God. The true identity and purpose of a thing is defined by its creator. That is why we make idols of all sorts of things, thinking we can manufacture definitions of life we think would make us secure. But, like idols of old which could neither speak, see, reason or act, our idols keep falling over, regardless of how often we nail them down and demand that others acknowledge them as substantive and real.

We become obsessed and demand that everyone around us be obsessed with what we have decided defines us. We gather in groups that embrace our confusion and condemn any and all who will not affirm and bless our insecurities. Our personal or group-idolatry will never provide the security we long for as the world continues to shake and topple what we hoped would protect and define us.

The only One who can reveal to us who we really are, what we really need, and in exposing our desperate need and offer us true security, an unshakeable Kingdom, is God. Hear what He says.

Isaiah 41:8-10 “But as for you, Israel my servant, Jacob my chosen one, descended from Abraham my friend, I have called you back from the ends of the earth, saying, ‘You are my servant.’ For I have chosen you and I will not throw you away. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious Right Hand."

If you become a servant of God, you have a Master, One whose is unshakable. If you are chosen, you have a Chooser. If you are a descendant in covenant with God, you are family. Identity, security, and certitude even when everything is being shaken around you come from the God Who created you and knows you by name. It is in Jesus Christ alone that you will ever discover your identity, meaning and true purpose in life. It is when you surrender to Him, confessing your folly, abandoning the idols you have clung to, and believe Him, that He becomes Life within you. He cleanses you from the decay of sin, the root and fruit of all idolatry.

We can stop being consumed by fear, because He will never leave, forsake or throw us away. He will be our strength. He will not falter or fail but will hold us up. We do not need to lose heart when all round us is being shaken. Not one and nothing can snatch us out of His Hands. You can receive from Him new Life, becoming part of a Kingdom that cannot ever be shaken. Will you believe and receive, or will you keep fashioning and nailing in place personal idols that will never save you?