Shaken. Life, health, loss, doubts—any of these can shake us to the core. Being shaken is unsettling, disorienting, and does not come to resolution quickly. For a season of undetermined length, one struggles with upheaval.

I have been in this season recently and have found comfort in listening to the psalms. However, a certain repeated phrase would unsettle me. I kept hearing, “the righteous will never be shaken” or “I will not be shaken.” I would turn my head and cry out to God, “But God, I DO feel shaken!” I was left wondering where I went wrong, yet felt convicted with the need to wrestle with the questions that arose from my circumstances.

On one of these occasions, the Lord brought a memory to mind. I was back in my grandmother’s kitchen. She was an amazing baker and had a small business making special order cakes. My grandma was the one who taught me to bake. This memory was my grandma teaching me how to prepare a cake for baking. The batter was in the pan, and we shook and pounded it on the countertop. “Do you know why this is important?” she asked. “Look at the surface of the cake.” I looked down and there were lumps bulging from the surface. A lump popped, and then another. All those lumps were air bubbles that had risen to the surface. She explained, “We want a nice, dense, moist cake, not one filled with a bunch of big, empty holes!”

I didn’t realize it at the time, but my grandmother was also teaching me a spiritual lesson. There is purpose in times of being shaken. Shaking brings to the surface and allows for the removal of things that pass away, so that only what is lasting remains. It is a refining process. It rids our lives of that which seems to have substance or purpose, but in reality, leaves us empty.

This thought immediately brought to mind the Hebrew word hevel (הבל). It’s sometimes translated as breath, vapor, meaningless, empty, vanity, and is also used for idols. The word hevel is that same idea of something that seems to have substance or value, but ends up being absolutely void and worthless. It’s a trail of smoke that dissipates at your fingertips as you try to take hold of it. A modern example would be a hologram that you reach out to grasp, only to find an illusion.

God desires for us to be filled with what is valuable and lasting, to have a firm foundation, and be persons of substance. We are hurt and deceived by that which is hevel in our lives. Removing hevel equips us to better fulfill His purpose for our lives. David was a great king, in part because he suffered and was shaken by King Saul’s poor stewardship of power, which was rooted in selfish pride. Joseph would not have had the humility, patience, and insight to save nations from starvation had he not been a slave and a prisoner. Those circumstances were extremely difficult and no doubt shook them to the core, but it also refined them to equip them for the future.

Difficulties in life will shake and batter us. The distinction is in the result. Shaking can refine, but it can also topple. This is what the psalmists were referring to—a shaking that results in slipping, falling, or being overthrown. We can find encouragement that even when shaken in difficulties, God will hold us firm. His desire is to settle us more securely in what is good and right and lasting.

It only seems fitting to end with Hebrew 12:26-28 (NLT):
When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.

Share with me below!

What encouraged you, helped you hold fast, during a time you were shaken?
or
What was something you learn during a shaken season?

Scriptures to consider this week:
Psalm 30
Luke 6:46-49
3 examples of hevel:
2 Kings 17:15
Proverbs 21:6
Proverbs 31:30

***A big thanks to my aunt, Nancy, who found that adorable picture and sent it to me for this post!