For in the hour of our darkest day
We will not tremble, we won’t be afraid
Hope is rising like the light of dawn
Our God is for us, He has overcome
For we trust in our God
And through His unfailing love
We will not be shaken
I wonder what worshippers are thinking when they sing this song. I would imagine it is about the challenges they are facing today. It may not be what our author/pastor is thinking in these verses as he writes to the community of Christians to do all he can to stop them turning back to Judaism.
Yesterday I was listening to the promotion of a new Radio 4 play soon to be released, centred around an attack on the financial structure of our nation, no one was able to get hold of any cash! The bank system collapsed. Well, I am not sure if the play is any good but I thought it not strange at all that certain plays were being written for such instability is all around us. The world is shaking. Nations are rising against nations. Fear dominates. The impact of the pandemic still resonates. Natural disasters are happening every week.
“At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.” (Hebrews 12 v 26-27)
It seems the author is thinking of the prophecy of Haggai in 2:6-7, “In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty.”
Haggai is thinking back to the same period of time that the author is speaking of, Mount Sinai. But he is also looking ahead.
Change is coming so Haggai believes and it did. Jesus came. But Haggai had an end-time shaking in mind along with the Hebrews Pastor/author. This will be a wholesale shaking of the world as we know it. God is once more going to shake His world. The ending of all that we know and the beginning of the new for it will be the return of Christ. Has it started?
When He comes everything that Christ has held together will be released. Christ sustains everything and when He comes He will stop sustaining. He will take His hand off this world and what we know will change.
But what we and the community of believers are told is that because we belong to Christ we will not be shaken. We shall remain.
For we trust in our God
And through His unfailing love
We will not be shaken
We will not be shaken
We will not be shaken
Missions Paul 