Stability in Our Walk With God; Be Not Shaken
Acts 2: 25 David said about him: "'I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
There is an old Christian expression that says if God is your co-pilot, you need to switch seats. The meaning of course being that it is God that needs to be in control, piloting your life. Too often we get caught up in our own strength and forget from whom all blessings flow. Instead we can lapse into having God as a co-pilot, relying on Him when the ride gets turbulent. It is when we are in charge however that the problems arise, requiring God's more immediate presence and control in our lives.
Acts 2:25 is a portion of the speech given by Peter on the Day of Pentecost. It was a very successful speech as the Bible tells us about three thousand were saved that day as the Holy Spirit worked through Peter. Working backwards through the verse, we see that the result is "I will not be shaken." The dictionary has several definitions for shaken; some of which are:
To tremble with emotion, cold, etc.
To become dislodged and fall
To totter; become unsteady
We can find ourselves in our walk with God trembling with emotion or some reaction to the elements around us. Take for example when Jesus was walking on water and bid Peter to come to Him. When Peter focused on Jesus he was able to do what was impossible for man; to walk on water as well. Then the Bible tells us he began to be shaken by his surroundings:
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Matthew 14: 30
When Peter saw the wind, he became afraid. He became shaken and then doubted the very miracle he was a part of. We also can become dislodged and fall in our walk with God. The Old Testament tells us of the first King of Israel, Saul. God instructed Saul to attack the Amalekites and leave nothing alive, including sheep and cattle. Instead, Saul allowed his men to keep the best of the sheep and cattle as plunder. When confronted by the Prophet Samuel, King Saul tried to defend his actions by using God; saying they saved the best of the animals to offer as sacrifices and burnt offerings to God. But God knows the heart and this was the reply of the Prophet Samuel:
But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD
delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as
much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice,
and
to heed is better than the fat of rams.
For
rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of
idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as
king." 1Samuel 15:23-24
Saul fell in his walk with God and became dislodged as king. His position with God was ruined because he became shaken and thought that he knew better than God. God delights in our obedience, not what we think God wants. Too often we too are guilty of the sin of Saul. We put ourselves and our greed ahead of God and then try and use religiosity as a justification for our actions. We try to ascribe religious reasons to our worldly actions. We allow ourselves to become shaken too easily. Lastly, we can also be shaken by tottering or becoming unsteady in our walk with God. James warns us of this:
