Shook. That feeling that isn't even stress or anxiety but instead just straight up fear. We want to write it off as nervousness. We want to cover it with a blanket of indecisiveness. But let's be honest with ourselves - we get straight up fearful sometimes.
I don't know if any of y'all have ever been to Scarowinds (the "scary" version of Carowinds that pops up in the fall), but the rule of the park is that the creatures and demons and phantoms that chase you around and scare you can't touch you. Let me say that again. Those things that scare you and elicit fear in your heart and keep you from moving forward CAN NOT TOUCH YOU. Let's talk about this great guy named David. You've heard of him; he's the guy who killed the giant with a rock and a slingshot. He was also a man after God's own heart. In Psalm 16:8, he praises God because he knows that if he keeps his eyes on God, he will not be shaken. Back to Scarowinds. Do you realize that in order to be shaken, you have to be touched? You have to be physically grasped in order for something to shake you. So if you know, like David, that you can't be touched by those things that you're fearful of, that means you can't be SHAKEN. Why are we afraid of the devil's illusions of fear if we CAN NOT BE TOUCHED AND THEREFORE SHAKEN? I want you to take a pause and go listen to "We Will Not Be Shaken" by Bethel Music. Shoutout to them for creating a song just for this blog post I APPRECIATE Y'ALL. Okay, listened? Let's keep it moving. Back to our guy David. In 2 Samuel 22:7-39, we see David was never touched nor shaken. God legit got SO MAD that someone was trying to mess with His David that He came down out of Heaven riding a cherubim and threw lightning bolts at the enemy to make them back off. The earth SHOOK because God wanted to make sure David's enemies knew He wasn't playing. But we see WHY David was never touched in those verses. David was never touched because he had the eyes of the Lord on him. He was never shaken because God dealt with him "according to his righteousness." A hugeeee problem in Christianity is that so often, we only call on God when we get in our times of trouble. We only call on Him when we've reached our wits end, and He is the ONLY One who can save us at that point. First off - praise the LORD for a God who loves us unconditionally and will save us regardless of the mess we put ourselves in! But, y'all... why do we always put ourselves in that mess for Him to save us? Why must we sin in the first place to get ourselves in that vulnerable position? Let me say that I know not every mess we get into is OUR fault. Life happens. Circumstances are uncontrollable. God will ALWAYS be near His children and will ALWAYS save us. But the reason that David was so trusting in God, the reason David DID NOT FEAR was because He knew his sins weren't the reason he was in that trouble THEREFORE God would have to save him from his enemies BECAUSE God is faithful to those who are obedient to Him. Whew. Failing to repent leads to death (Luke 13:3&5). If you've ever wondered why Jesus referred to people who were physically dead in the Bible (aka Lazarus) as SLEEPING, it's because He knew they weren't dead in the spiritual realm. In the Bible, only those who are dead in the spiritual realm are referred to as dead. Everyone else who dies a physical death is merely sleeping; their souls live on ETERNALLY in Heaven! Back in the day - and when I say back in the day, I mean waaay back to the Israelites doing their thing in the desert - God's people would ALWAYS get themselves into a mess because they decided to worship Baal and other fake and gold idols. You may say, "LOL that's so dumb. I would never worship a piece of gold," but I hate to break it to you - you worship something. We worship money. We worship success. We worship power. We worship relationships. We worship attention. We worship material items. Sucks, right? But in Acts 17:29-30, Peter tells us "Yo, God is tired of y'all worshipping the fake stuff." Well he basically said that. What he actually says is, "Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.” Now that we have Jesus, we have NO excuse to be worshipping the fake stuff. He is the RISEN KING! He OVERCAME DEATH on the cross for OUR RAGGEDY SINS. When we call on the name of JESUS, EVERY enemy must flee! We must repent from our sins in order to be obedient. We must be obedient in order to have God's eyes ever on us. We must have God's eyes ever on us if we are to live without FEAR. You may say, "But, Lauren, what exactly am I repenting from? And what does repent even mean?" In reverse order, repent means to turn the other way. Like you're walking north in sin and then you're walking south in repentance. Not east or west because that's also kinda in that direction. I was thinking the other day because I think a lot (as Pastor Travis says), and I realized that people can only repent from things that convict them. The more you read God's word and the more time you spend in His presence, the more things you will be convicted of. And once you are convicted of something, you will be judged on that thing if you continue to do it. You know how they say "knowledge is power?" Well let me tell you that conviction requires correction. If something convicts your heart, God is going to ask you about it when you stand before Him if you continue to do it. And you don't wanna be in that position 🙃 Let's recap here: You cannot be shaken because you cannot be touched. God will fight for HIS children. God is faithful to the faithful. God is a rewarder of righteousness. Please be assured in the truth that God loves you and will never leave you nor forsake you. He will hold you by His righteous right hand. He will NEVER let His child be shaken by the hand of the enemy. Rest in your salvation and know He's already got it worked out - it's just up to you to trust Him. I love y'all!!! -L
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