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REFLECTION
Unshakeable
by Mary Alice McGinnis
Don’t we just love our stories about heroes? They can be found everywhere, in books, news articles, movies, and on Netflix. How do these storylines normally go?
A dark disaster is imminent, threatening to bring about total devastation.
The hero arrives on the scene.
They determine the situation is hopeless. Evil is going to win.
They find a solution. Hope begins to arise.
But the battle ensues, they soon find the enemy insurmountably strong and seemingly unconquerable. Looming defeat seems inevitable.
Just in the nick of time, the battle turns, and the hero arises to new heights of strength. Hope is revived.
After a long, grueling war, the hero comes out the victor. Justice and peace have been hard-fought, but finally achieved!
And then . . .
Disappointment sets in. We find out that the hero is flawed. Their victory is short-lived. Perhaps we even discover the hero has a dark side. Evil rises and threatens to undo peace and justice once again. And then the cycle repeats.
I believe this theme is so prevalent in our stories because it is how we see life. We look for heroes to step in to rescue us from injustice and the evil we see all around us. Maybe we even depend upon ourselves to be such a hero.
Yet, we find that suffering, pain, and hardship in the world around us is pervasive. Just when we feel things are turning around and looking up, the next shoe drops. And if we are honest, we even find that injustice and wrong doing are rampant in our own hearts.
Where can we go? What can we do?
This is God’s story. He is the Hero! His character is Almighty, Holy, PURE Justice and always Righteous.
In His perfect justice, He can ONLY act according to His pure Holy nature. He will cause justice to dwell in the wasteland of deserts, and His righteousness to every prosperous field.
How did He do this? By sending Jesus. John 3:16 is called the “gospel in a nutshell.”
“For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” - John 3:16
But also listen to verse 17.
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” - John 3:17
If we are depending upon our own resources, our own strength, our own righteousness to find peace, we are doomed to failure. Our disillusionment and loss of hope will be certain.
But God has brought us PEACE with Him, the Sovereign King, the Almighty God, the Holy and Righteous Judge. We can place our unshakeable confidence and hope in Him, Jesus our Savior.
Anchoring our souls in this sure and certain foundation, we can face whatever life has to throw at us. Even if 100-pound hail was to fall from the sky tomorrow, flattening our homes and businesses, if we aligning our trust in the One Who justifies us, we can find joy, peace, and unshakeable hope.
So whatever life is throwing at you right now, bind up all your anxieties and cast them into the arms of the One who is Pure, Holy, Almighty, Everlasting, and who came to this earth as an infant to die for you.
“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. . .” Hebrews 12:28
PRAYER PRACTICE
Hymn Lyrics: Ah, Dearest Jesus, Holy Child
Make Thee a bed soft, undefiled
Within my heart that it may be
A quiet chamber kept for Thee.
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