Day 16 | Friday, September 5
Written by Jana Howerton
At that time, his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”
This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.
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 12:26-29
WORSHIP
During these 21 Days of Prayer, each one of us finds ourselves in very different places and situations. But what is true of all of us is that life has a way of requiring more of us than we expect.
Usually, no matter how good a season we are in, there is some area of our lives where we might feel a bit shaken. These areas can feel like more than we can handle on our own. But I want to encourage you that this is actually a good thing.
Each time we feel like we are being shaken is a time when God is at work. This is the place where God anchors us more deeply in Him. He is allowing only the things that can be shaken to be shaken. Sometimes He shakes us out of our comfort zones, our carefully organized plans or the relationships we’ve leaned on more than Him.
Other times, it’s our sense of control, our identity or even finding our security somewhere besides Him. You might find that He is exposing hidden idols in your life, or confronting some other area, but He doesn’t do this to harm us, but to refine and sanctify us—to make us more like Jesus.
However He is moving in your life, He is doing it to reveal something better. He’s redirecting our eyes to see Him more clearly and to anchor our hearts in the things that cannot be shaken:
He is what remains.
His Kingdom stands.
He is where we find our hope.
Because of these truths, we should do what verse 28 tells us: Offer Him acceptable worship. Praise Him for who He is, right where we are, because we have a King and belong to a Kingdom that cannot be shaken.
PRAY
Father, you are so good, and you are kind in all your works. I pray that instead of focusing my eyes on my situation today, I will focus them on you.
Help me to see what you are doing in my life, and even if I might not understand it, help me to praise you and encounter you in the midst of it.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
