Here we are, at the beginning of the year, anticipating what the Lord has in store for us. The calendar for 2023 promises to be yet another outstanding year for us to proclaim the Lord’s Word during the many events already booked. Looking back, it has been so exciting to witness the last two years of work through this ministry. As one being on the inside, I would call moments “humbling” or “awe inspiring” as we have witnessed His hand at work in many lives. Stepping into this new year we are ready for more, and our theme is to be SHAKEN by Him.
We are expecting Christ to move in and through us in this ministry, SHAKEN by the Holy Spirit to speak the Word of God boldly as we see in Acts 4:31. When His followers in Acts prayed to the Lord in response to His protection and provision for Peter and John, they were SHAKEN. It sure appears like a physical shaking, but I believe as the Holy Spirit was involved, it was also more.
Being SHAKEN can be a physical, mental and emotional thing. I believe the Lord would love to shake us physically out of our “slumber” of the everyday, the mundane life actions that are routine and we think don’t have anything to do with Him. SHAKEN by the very life giver with the understanding that every action results in Kingdom work, be it for or against. Second, mentally we are to be SHAKEN this year. Our worldview is to be Christ’s, and we all have areas that need to be His that aren’t yet. Only our Creator, through His Spirit, can shake those worldviews back into line as He intends. Third, emotionally many of us have been placed in bondage over the last couple of years with the fear of circumstances beyond our control. That needs to be SHAKEN and released to the one who controls all. Only by seeking the Sovereign Lord in our life will we see the hope that is to come and not the bondage of today.
To be SHAKEN begins with acknowledging Him as the one who “made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them,” just as those followers prayed in Acts 4. Our understanding must begin with the right foundation in His Word. Then He will shake us in a way you would shake one who needs to be brought out of unconsciousness to life. The result will be boldly proclaiming His Word as truth, knowing we have been SHAKEN for a greater purpose. Blessings.
