6 minute read
Letters with Love
BY DARLENE ZSCHECH
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." The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
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HEBREWS 12:26-29 NIV
I know that in this season we are walking through as a global community, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the shaking. Whether its earthquakes, bushfires, storms, pandemics and heartbreak, or economic crisis, the shaking is real. Emotions tumble around… stress and anxiety has certainly gained some momentous ground across the earth. The shaking is uncomfortable. The shaking feels like uncertainty. And if you are living in shallow waters around your faith, shallow waters about your convictions with regards to what you believe, then my friend you will find yourself being tossed around, you may even feel shaken loose from things you’ve always believed to be true.
I was brought up in an era in church where questioning was not allowed. Somehow you were made to feel like an inferior Christian, that your
trust life was not strong. But the older I have become, the more I have found a Saviour and friend who welcomes my questions, my doubts and my fears…reminding me that when I AM WEAK, His strength is made perfect IN my weakness.
So, what do we learn in this season of shaking regards to worship? Any shaking, any season when you are faced with giants of any kind you soon realize that a worshipping life is critical to the spiritual resilience of any Jesus follower. And I am not talking sweet songs that please the senses, I am talking about spirit and truth prayers and melodies that resound louder than panic or fear, giving us theological handles to grab onto when it feels like the earth under our feet is slipping away. Nothing like a good shaking to find out what you really believe.
If you look historically at some of songs that have held communities and nations together, you find again and again, the sound of authentic hearts crying out in pain AND YET wonder at God’s nearness and faithfulness to His people, especially in times of suffering. We draw near to Him, He draws near to us. He is always close to the broken hearted. The nearness of God is not something we simply HOPE for, but the knowledge of the presence of the Holy Spirit is a necessity for any Christian.
My heart has always been drawn to David, who we know faced so many shakings throughout his life. But toward the end of David’s journey we read in Psalm 37:
I have been young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken, or His children begging bread.
A lifetime of watching the faithfulness of God developed such spiritual resilience in David yet it didn’t start out like that. When the prophet Samuel came through to anoint someone as King, David’s own Father had not even considered David would qualify to be God’s anointed… and on his journey to Kingship he faced many years in hiding fearing for his life. He served in wars, saw the death of at least four of his sons, had long-term serious health problems, three uprisings against his kingship, multiple persecutions because of his faith… years and years of SHAKING and yet God had still purposed him to be a KING.
His courage and resilience was built over many years, as through eachchallenge—facing a giant, a lion, a bear, a cruel and Godless leader, he faced things that were no fault of his own and then faced things that were due to his own selfishness…AND YET…God highlights something about David when He says in Acts 13:22:
After removing Saul, God raised up David to be king, for God said of him, ‘I have found in David, son of Jesse, a man who always pursues my heart and will accomplish all that I have destined him to do.’
Back to Hebrews, when we read about the importance of worship in the midst of receiving the Kingdom of God, is that His presence keeps our heart after HIS heart not after our own dominion, not getting our own way, for worship has always been the tenderizer of our soul. His worship gives rise and voice to the Kingdom of God within us.
Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see— how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him. Worship God if you want the best, worship opens doors to all his goodness.
PSALM 34:8-9
In our own strength, operating in protecting our own personal kingdoms and looking after our own interests we tire, we approach service and worship as if it were a labor or maybe even doing God a favor. We can easily act like slaves, rather than those who live as sons and daughters of the most high God. We can start to lose sight of our personal practices that keep us tied to the principles of God’s Kingdom, such as being in God’s word, being with God’s people.
Paul reminds us in Hebrews, that as we receive God’s Kingdom we are to remain THANKFUL and filled with praise. Can I encourage you to cultivate a thankful grateful spirit. A thankful spirit will keep you from a spirit of entitlement. A thankful heart will find itself buoyant even when the shaking is happening. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit and I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, one of the great privileges of any leader of worship, is to lead when times are tough, helping people see Jesus when they are buried beneath the rubble of life.
LASTLY.…what about the consuming fire that Hebrews talk about. Charles Spurgeon said this…
Everything that is holy will endure the fire, and as for all within us that is impure, let it be consumed speedily. So let us serve the Lord with fear, but not with terror, and let this service be continued all our days. The consuming fire is all about becoming more like Jesus and sometimes it is very uncomfortable as our flesh nature is fashioned to be more like Jesus. Just because something is uncomfortable does not mean it is not worthwhile.
SO, hear my heart to you today..…
IN THE SHAKING
dive deep into God’s word.
IN THE SHAKING
live deep within His community.
IN THE SHAKING
invite God’s spirit to do what He wants to do within your life, that in the sifting that which remains is the gold that will always bring great glory to our God.
With much love, Darlene
BY DARLENE ZSCHECH
Australian Darlene Zschech is acclaimed all over the world as a composer, worship leader, pastor, author and speaker, and became most well known for her involvement in the worship team at Hillsong Church, Sydney, Australia over many years. Alongside her husband Mark, they are the Senior Pastors of Hope Unlimited Church (HopeUC) on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia, which has now grown into India and the USA.
VOL 30 NO 4
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