When Everything Shakes, God Remains

Scripture: Hebrews 12:26–28; Psalm 46

Introduction

Currently we are living in a time when it feels like everything is shaking. Nations are trembling. Economies feel uncertain. Families are under pressure. Even long-held beliefs seem to be questioned daily. Many people are asking, “What if anything can I trust anymore?”  

When an earthquake strikes, people will instinctively look for doorframes, foundations, and open spaces. When the earth is shaking, what matters most is not what looks strong, but what actually is. There are buildings that appear solid and can collapse if their foundations are weak.

The bible  tells us this is not new. God warns that there will be seasons when everything that can be shaken and will be shaken so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Spiritually, we are in an earthquake moment. Systems we have trusted, financial, political, cultural, even religious, are trembling and seem to be breaking down.

We are anxious because we tend to build our security on shiny things never designed to hold up when tested. Spiritually, we are in an earthquake moment. People are anxious because they built their security on things never designed to hold it. Scripture tells us this is not unexpected. God warned that shaking would come but not to destroy His people, but to reveal what can truly stand.

GOD USES SHAKING TO REVEAL FOUNDATIONS (Hebrews 12:26–27)

The writer of Hebrews highlights that there will come a moment when God will “shake not only the earth but also the heavens” (Hebrews 12:26). This language is not a poetic exaggeration it’s a theological reality. Throughout the Bible, shaking always accompanies divine intervention. At Sinai, the mountain trembled when God descended in power. At the resurrection, the earth shook as the stone was rolled away. Shaking signals that God is at work, removing what is temporary so that what is eternal may be revealed.

Hebrews 12:27 clarifies the purpose of the shaking: “so that what cannot be shaken may remain.” God is not trying to destroy His people; He is refining their foundation. The shaking exposes what we have trusted that was never meant to bear the weight of our hope—wealth, systems, leaders, cultural stability, even religious routine. When these things tremble, it reveals whether our faith rests in them or in God Himself.

GOD REMAINS A REFUGE IN THE MIDST OF CHAOS (Psalm 46)

Gods truth is powerfully answered in Psalm 46. The writer of this psalm begins not with the denial of chaos but with a declaration of confidence: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). You can see that God is not described as a distant observer, but as being very present.

Even when the earth gives way and mountains fall into the sea, God remains our refuge, not because circumstances are calm, but because He is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)

Psalm 46 does not promise a world without troubles; it promises we have a God who is unmovable within it. “The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; He utters His voice, the earth melts” (Psalm 46:6). The powers on earth will rise and fall, but when God speaks, all of creation responds. What feel so extremely overwhelming to us is still under His authority.

THE UNSHAKABLE KINGDOM WE ARE RECEIVING (Hebrews 12:28)

We can see in Hebrews 12:28 where it turns doctrine into devotion: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful.” As Christians our hope should not be rooted in the stability of the world, but in the permanence of God’s Kingdom. His Kingdom is not threatened by chaos, political turmoil, economic uncertainty, or cultural decline. Our hope has been established by Christ and secured through the blood and His resurrection, and will endure forever.

When we belong to this unshakable Kingdom that allows us to live with confidence even when circumstances collapse. Our gratitude becomes an act of faith, our worship becomes an anchor and our obedience becomes a declaration that our trust is not in what we see, but in the God who reigns above it all.

When everything seems to shake, God should never be our last resort, but should be and needs to be our sure foundation. It will never be a question of whether the world will shake; the Bible assures us that it will. The question is whether or not our lives are built on what can be shaken, or on the Kingdom that never will be.

HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND?

When the world shakes:

• God is not panicking
  
• God is not absent
  
• God is not defeated
  

An anchor does not stop the storm, it keeps the ship from drifting. Faith doesn’t remove shaking, it keeps us steady. This is not a season to despair, it is a season to anchor deeper.

What’s being shaken may be:

• False securities
  
• Misplaced hope
  
• Cultural idols
  
• Shallow faith
  

But the Kingdom of God stands unshaken.

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You that Your mercies are new every morning and that great is Your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22–23). You go before us and You are with me; You will never leave me nor forsake me (Deuteronomy 31:8).

Nothing that is ahead is hidden from You. Lord, I commit this year to You, I am trusting You with all my heart and leaning not on my own understanding (Proverbs 3:5–6). I acknowledge that all of my plans are subject to Your will, and I say with humility, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:15). Order my steps according to Your Word (Psalm 119:133).

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me (Psalm 51:10). Transform me by the renewing of my mind, so that I may discern what is good, pleasing, and perfect in Your will (Romans 12:2). Let Your Word be a lamp to my feet and a light to my path in every decision I face (Psalm 119:105).

We ask for Your peace to guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). Heal the brokenhearted and bind up my wounds (Psalm 147:3). Teach me to forgive as I have been forgiven (Colossians 3:13), and to walk in love, just as Christ loved (Ephesians 5:2).

Prepare me for every season this year brings. When trials come, help me to count it joy, knowing You are producing endurance in me (James 1:2–4). When blessings come, keep me humble and thankful, remembering that every good and perfect gift comes from You (James 1:17).

I will seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness, trusting that what I need will be provided (Matthew 6:33). I dedicate this year to You, asking that my life will bring You glory in all that I do (1 Corinthians 10:31).

I pray this with confidence in the name of Jesus, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). In Jesus Name Amen.

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