Shaken

Since I’ve spent the majority of my life living in California, I’m pretty used to earthquakes. I know what it is like for the pictures to begin shaking, the earth to begin rolling, and the momentary calculation of wondering how long it’s going to last. I can quickly figure out where the nearest door jam is, and have perfected the maneuver to protect my neck should things start falling. Because of all this, an earthquake very rarely rattles my nerves. In fact, I’ve been known to sleep through many of them, much to the chagrin of my sister who would succeed in waking me up right as they ended.

However, despite my relative calm, earthquakes are not something to be taken lightly. Due to the recent earthquake in Japan, we are all well too familiar with the damage and destruction that they can cause. Not only do buildings and roadways cease to hold their form, but even the land itself reportedly moved as a result of the recent quake. It takes a very strong force to literally adjust the landscape of our globe and yet an earthquake can do that.

Unlike the layout of the Earth, however, our God has promised that His kingdom is unshakable. There is no force that can cause Him to move or that will alter His plans. The world around us may crumble, yet He is a strong tower that the righteous may run into and be safe.  He will not buckle under force, nor does He sway with the currents or tremble at evil; He remains.

And because of this, regardless of the rattle and rolling that our lives may be experiencing, we need too, need not be shaken.

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Rock, Fortress, Deliverer

He said “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer” – I Sam. 22:2

As I tell my students often, in business it’s important what you are known for. In marketing, we call this positioning – the space you occupy in your customer’s mind (relative to your competition). The idea is that you want to so “own” a place in your customer’s mind that when they think of that need or that attribute, they think of your company. So let’s say you focus on quality. When customers think “quality” you want them to think of you.

What’s interesting is that it’s very hard for a company to occupy more than one position. After all, if a company tries to be “low-cost” while at the same time being “high-quality”, people will get confused.  However, this verse in I Samuel makes it very clear that God can and should occupy multiple and distinct positions in our mind.

He is our rock. – He is the One who is our support, Who stays steady even when the world goes crazy. He is the immovable, grounded in Who He is, unchangeable to the end.

He is our fortress. – He is our protector. He is our defense against the enemy; the One in Whom we take refuge. He is our security, the harbor in which we can find respite.

He is our deliverer. – Not only does He protect us when we come to Him, but He rescues us from the storm. He thwarts evil’s plans in order to bring about good through our lives. He acts on our behalf so that our lives may be used by Him.

Three separate positions that God should occupy in our lives.  Three different ways in which we should consider God. And yet, while they are distinct, they are also complimentary. Because the God Who delivers us, is our fortress that defends us, and is the rock on which we can depend.

And for us, the best position to be in, is completely dependent upon Him.

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