Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
What in your life can be shaken? What is being shaken now? This world is shakable, and as a living part of this world, are you shakable?
The author of Hebrews reminds us that the Kingdom of Heaven cannot be shaken, and we who believe in Jesus are a part of it!* This reality ought to instill in us a settling gratitude that is inextricably attached to faith.* Because we believe who God is and the words that He speaks, we know that His Kingdom cannot be shaken, so ultimately neither can we. That is something to be grateful for indeed!
So why do we feel so shakable? If you are anything like me, I feel very stable until I don’t. I think that I have grown enough in my trust in the Lord that I can “handle” whatever storm comes. Then, something comes that shakes me.
The author of Hebrews uses the word “receiving” in describing our relationship to the Kingdom of Heaven.* It is a present participle… not a past tense verb, and not a future tense either.* Why is this? The author of Hebrews reflects the truth that Jesus shares about the Kingdom of Heaven that it is both present (Luke 11:20; 17:21) and future (Mark 14:25; Matt 6:10).* We are in the process of “receiving” it.
The shakable nature of our natural realm and natural selves must be anchored in the unshakable reality of the Kingdom. It’s interesting that what is shakable is seen (this world), and what is unshakable is invisible (the Kingdom of God).* One might think that the more substantial reality is the one that we can touch and see. This is not the case.
When we hold our perspective on the unshakable reality of the Kingdom of Heaven, we will find gratitude toward the Lord even in the most shaking of seasons in this life. This unshakable gratitude that does not depend upon circumstances should then result in a worship that recognizes the almighty wonder of God.
This worship us the fruit of valuing God and HIs reality above all else, never looking away no matter the shaking around us.
What is shakable in your life? You might want to pray that God’s Kingdom comes and will is done… doing so will bring about stability. Doing so will remind you that you have a profound reason to worship Him.
Don’t know what to do about the shakable things? Look to God… He is a consuming fire that will destroy all that we need not waste our time on, and everything thing important, He will turn to gold.*
In the words of the martyred missionary Jim Elliot:
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to recognize those things that are shakable in your life. Perhaps God wants you to trade them for what is unshakable. Maybe today God wants you to worship Him from a place of gratitude and faith. Perhaps today God wants you remember that He is a consuming fire.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
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*Stedman, R. C. (1992). Hebrews (Heb 12:25–29). IVP Academic.
Grindheim, S. (2023). The Letter to the Hebrews (D. A. Carson, Ed.; pp. 660–662). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
France, R. T. (2006). Hebrews. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, pp. 181). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (pp. 423, 432). Zondervan Publishing House.
Elliot, Shadow of the Almighty (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1958), 15, 18–19.