I Will Not Be Shaken

It’s mid July. Summer’s heat can feel oppressive, it can be that one last  straw on the camel’s back. When you are walking through a difficult season of life each “straw” can be monumental. Small things can turn the tide of your day. I have seen it in my own heart and in others.

My list of errands is long and I pop in my local coffee shop for something cool to drink. The worker behind the counter has somehow made it a point to learn my name this past year and greets me by it. Such a small thing, but moving to a new state after spending my whole life in another, it makes me smile, to be known. I run across the street to the bank, the feeling of joy still spreading across my heart and decide to share it. I remember my teller has just moved to a new house and ask her if she is settling in. Such a small thing but a smile blooms across her face and she tells me all the things. One straw is taken off this camel’s back. 

Another day, I’m tired, lack of sleep and doing all the things. I have been looking back and feeling sad, and looking forward and feeling anxious. One child is frustrated that things are not going as planned. Another one is overwhelmed and exhausted. I feel empty. This is exactly what I was afraid of God. I have nothing, no wisdom to give, no answers, no solutions to their hurting hearts. I know the root of what ails them. It isn’t just plans that have gone awry or their bodies are tired. It’s grief. It’s missing someone and something. It’s questions that feel BIGGER than our answers. It’s wondering what exactly our “Victory in Jesus” is supposed to look like. It’s one more straw on this camel’s back.

One of the enemies biggest lies is that life is too much for us! It is too hard and we are overwhelmed. If you think about it, that’s what stress is, a feeling of being overwhelmed. The enemy would like nothing better beloved than to lead us from that place of feeling overwhelmed  to a place of hopelessness.

But everyone is stressed you say? Isn’t that just normal? Yes, the stats feel stacked against us. 77% of people in the U. S. experience physical symptoms caused by stress. Even children are not exempt from this. And yet, what is the one thing that can turn the tide? What if we had access to something that can actually take those straws off our backs instead of adding to them? Hardships and trials are inevitable in some way, shape or form. What we do with them, makes all the difference. 

When real storms come our way we batten down the hatches, go to the inner room without windows and HOPE for the best. So, when real life storms come our way what should we do? The same thing. We go to that inner room, we find that quiet place free from distractions and we remind ourselves of what we already know. We put our HOPE in the one who is the best. We renew our mind with truth and  “Truth” is a person that can turn any tide. This is what we know beloved.

” Those who trust in the Lord are like Mt. Zion. It cannot be shaken. It remains forever.” Ps. 125

When we put our trust in the Lord, beloved, we cannot be shaken.  It’s when our trust is in ourselves  that we feel shaken and oh so scared. Because we know, alone, we are too weak. We are overwhelmed. We don’t have wisdom or the answers we need. But with God, we cannot be shaken. It may feel like it. We may feel completely broken. But we are only bruised. Our foundation is solid, therefore we stand! Because of Jesus!