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[Please join me in praying for our nation and world on Tuesdays this year.]
In my distress I called upon the Lord,
Yes, I called out to my God;
And from His temple He heard my voice,
And my cry for help came into His ears.
Then the earth shook and quaked,
The foundations of heaven were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
Smoke went up out of His nostrils,
And fire from His mouth was devouring;
The Lord thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice.
And He shot arrows and scattered them,
Lightning, and routed them.
Then the channels of the sea appeared,
The foundations of the world were exposed
By the rebuke of the Lord,
From the blast of the breath of His nostrils.
He sent from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
He rescued me from my strong enemy. (2 Samuel 11:7-9, 14-18 NASB)
I’ve been thinking lately about the concept of “shaken,” as in “when GOD shakes things.” We know, “The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished…” (Numbers 14:18 NIV). If this is true, why hasn’t God acted against sinfulness, injustice, and raw rebellion against his good purposes? If we consult the news each day (minimally, if possible, for our mental health), the world seems to be full of darkness, injustice, and despair. We may ask: why doesn’t God do something?
But does God immediately smite down the sinner? Not usually. God is slow to anger. God abounds in love and forgives sin and rebellion – when the sinner repents. This is good news for we who seek to follow God, and still commit sins. God is slow to anger and will graciously accept our humble and genuine repentance from sins. Yet, God does get angry.
I believe that God’s anger is most poured out upon those who repeatedly and without any repentance commit gross acts of injustice against God’s Truth, Law, and People. When it seems like the wicked are thriving, flourishing, and generally have taken over, we are reminded that, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NIV) I’m glad for God’s patience with me, but I am, admittedly, impatient with his seeming patience with evil people.
You know how a mother or grandmother might grab a very naughty child by the shirt collar and try to “shake some sense into them?” I find myself sometimes wishing God would just shake the wickedness in this world until it either repents or is destroyed. This is why, for the last several years, one of my daily prayers has been that God will break the power of the wicked, in Jesus’s name. I know that God’s plans are for a future with hope and, from my not-God perspective, I believe that breaking the power of the wicked will greatly improve the world.
Obviously, humanity is all inner-connected. A natural shaking in Turkey, for instance, will still affect people in other parts of the world who want to provide search teams, relief aid, and rebuilding supplies after the event. A shaking in a local or state government can impact the local politics of that area – for ill or for good. A shaking like a massive labor strike against the automobile manufacturers also affects other people and industries that supply those automobile manufacturers. Yet these somewhat more routine shakings are dwarfed by the enormity of what God sometimes chooses to do. Flood a world because of sin? That shakes things up. Send your Son to die for the world’s sin? That shakes things up. Move strongly, quickly, and decisively against the wickedness and evil in the world? That would shake all of us. While, I know that God’s ways and sight are higher and much more complete than mine, I have begun to pray for a shaking of our world.
Buckle up because when God moves, anything that can be shaken will be shaken, in Jesus’s name.
BUT, we who are children of the Light, we who are Believers in the Promises of God, and followers of his Way, Truth and Life, we are receiving his Kingdom that cannot be shaken. When the earth below us seems to shake, we can stand firm on the promises he gives us to never leave or forsake us. He is with us when the darkness or flood or fire seem overwhelming and, ultimately, when we are Believers, our future is secure in him. “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17 NIV)
It is time to stand firm as God shakes the earth.
I believe it is time for God to shake the earth’s evil systems. For government, business, media, arts & entertainment, education, family and even the Church – it’s time for darkness to know that the Lord of Light is still on his throne. It’s time for GOD to shine his Light on the evil of this world, break it by the power of his Word, and then let that darkness be replaced by the Light of hope. It is time for the Church to rise up and say “NO MORE” to evil. It is time for the People of God to take the authority Jesus gave us to cast out these evil and unclean spirits.
May the shaking of our Lord drive out wickedness and allow our light to shine in this world, in Jesus’s name.
Omnipotent God,
You are seated on the Throne, high above all we can understand, and your holiness and glory are forevermore. There is no weapon, no shadow, no rival, no battle, and no army that can defeat you. God, we come to you today grateful that you hate sin and grateful that you have made a way for your children to come to you through Jesus Christ. We pray that all those in this world who you see as evil or wicked would repent, in Jesus’s name. And if they will not repent, we pray that you would shake them and their worldly systems to such a point that they are either broken, destroyed, or finally come to repentance. We know you are slow to anger and you desire all to repent, but if they will not, we pray you would pour out your righteous justice on them. As you shake the earth’s systems, we pray in Jesus’s name that you will protect your people. We thank you for the Kingdom you give us that cannot be shaken. You are a consuming fire, our rescuer, our protector, provider, and comforter. AMEN.
“Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let’s show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28-29 NASB)
“The power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.” (Psalm 37:17 NIV)
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9 NIV)
“Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness.” (Matthew 10:1 NASB)
“And behold! I saw the Lamb break open the sixth seal, which released a powerful earthquake. I saw the sun become pitch black and the full moon become blood red. The stars fell from heaven to the earth, as a fig tree shaken by a stormy wind sheds its unripe figs. The sky receded with a snap—as a scroll rolls itself up. And every mountain and island was moved from its place. Then the kings of the earth and its great princes and generals, the rich and powerful, and everyone, whether they were slave or free, ran for cover and hid in the caves and among the mountain boulders. They called out to the mountains and the boulders, saying, “Fall on us at once! Hide us quickly from the glorious face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” (Revelation 6:12-17 TPT)
“Anything Is Possible”
There is no shadow
That has ever overcome Your light
And there is no rival
That could ever stand against Your might
You’ve always been with us
Every battle You’ve already won
Oh, we’ve already won
There is no weapon
That has ever left a mark on You
And there is no army
With the power to conquer truth
You’ve always been with us
Every battle You’ve already won
We’ve already won
There is a kingdom
That’s advancing at the speed of light
And in His kingdom
Every dead thing is bound to rise
Oh, God our Redeemer
He is faithful to revive
Oh, He will revive
Show me one thing He can’t do
Show me a mountain He can’t move
He’s the God of the breakthrough
And anything is possible (Do you believe it?)
Show me one thing that’s too hard
Show me waters He can’t part
He’s the God of the breakthrough
And anything is possible, hey, hey
Now, all of my fear I will turn into praise
Shake off despair as I sing out Your name
A victory dance, I will dance out in faith
I will crush disappointment and break every chain*
*”Anything Is Possible” by Gary Baker / Matt Johnson / Robert Collier / Ethan Bortnick © Noise Block Publishing, One Eighteen Music, Bethel Music Publishing, Bethel Worship Publishing, Maverick City Publishing, Maverick City Publishing Worldwide, Brandon Lake Music, Ethan Bortnick Publishing