When… There’s a Whole Lot of Shaking going on!

I was jarred and shaken awake this morning around 3:30 when my phone, placed on the bed stand about a foot from my head, began to vibrate and sound off a loud alarm letting me know that there was an extreme weather warning.  It doesn’t seem to matter how low I set the volume on the phone before I go to bed as the emergency weather alert always seems to broadcast at full volume!

So, in my groggy state of mind, I grabbed the phone and attempted to turn down the volume so not as to wake up my slumbering wife.  When that didn’t work I reached across the bed stand and fumbled around until I found my glasses so I could read the message on the phone and see what catastrophic event was so important as to awaken me from a hard-to-get-into deep sleep. 

Well… I was able to get the glasses on without poking myself in the eye and with a sigh read: “Flash Flood Warning!”  We had been experiencing some thunderstorms throughout the night and at times I could hear the rain beating down on the roof.  But while there are some lowlands and flood zones in our county, our neighborhood is not located in one of them!

Before we bought our house, I went on line and checked out the flood zones in the areas around our house to make sure that our property was situated on high ground.  So, at 3:30 this morning I was a little annoyed at the alarming alert which didn’t affect us!  But after I calmed down and snuggled back up under the covers, I was happy that technology allows us to have such emergency alerts that can save lives in the middle of the night!

Last night’s adventure though, got me to thinking about how much my life in general has been shaken up by the attack on my wife’s health.  And while it was not a sudden alarm that went off and rapidly changed the landscape of our future, it has been a slow but deliberate breakdown of every plan, vision and dream of our tomorrows together.  Now I find that I am at a new place in my life… one in which I have never ventured before!  For the first time since we have been together, I have no clear vision or dream for Piper and I except… for what the Word of God promises us!

I was reading during my Bible Study time today from a new commentary on the book of Hebrews, that “God wants His people to have their feet on the solid foundation of faith.”*  It was stated that the word “established” is used eight times in this book of the new Testament.  To be “established” means to be “solidly grounded, to stand firm on your feet and carries the idea of strength, reliability, confirmation and permanence.”*

The author of the commentary felt that while studying the book of Hebrews that the students of the Word will ask themselves the simple question: “What am I really trusting?  Am I trusting the Word of God, or am I trusting the things of this world that are shaking and ready to fall away?”**

As I have mentioned in many prior blog posts, I can clearly see now, how the good Lord had it all planned for us to attend Bible College exactly when we did, so that we could face the trials and tribulations ahead with a firm foundation of God’s Word and His Love under us.  Hebrews 12:8 encourages all in this regard by declaring, “Do you see what we've got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander.” (The Message Bible) 

After everything Piper and I have been through over these last ten years, I can’t help but mirror what the commentary writer states as the key to the book of Hebrews being that “You can be secure while everything around you is falling apart.”*

I have to say that over these last ten years, that we have been though a whole bunch more shaking in quantity and severity as we’ve responded to all the various physical changes and stages of this disease as-well-as-with the interpersonal interactions with others while on this journey with Piper’s health, than in 50+ years of living in earthquake country while in California!

And through it all, I am sooooo thankful for the firm foundation of Papa God and His infallible Word of grace, love and power that has held us steady during the biggest time of shaking that we’ve ever encountered!  Where do you stand on this?  Will His Word keep you steady when your world shakes?

Have a good week, and as you do, keep asking yourself… “Who or What am I expecting to keep me steady when my world is shaking?”

*Be Confident (Hebrews): Live by Faith, Not by Sight,  Warren W. Wiersbe pg 311 – Kindle Version

** Ibid, pg 310