Hey Church!

Our opening song this Sunday is one you know well: “We Will Not Be Shaken.” Some years ago it occurred to me that this is the kind of song that deserves to be memorized and rehearsed often. More than a great song of corporate praise, we should tuck it away for our own private use when times are hard.

Like many of the psalms in the Bible, “We Will Not Be Shaken” is a proclamation of confidence in God’s power to deliver. When the world all around is shaken, whether the upheaval of governments, or persecution, or pandemic, or natural disaster, the message we will need to preach to ourselves and others in that moment will be, “We trust in our God, and through His unfailing love, we will not be shaken.” 

I imagine it being the song of Paul and Silas, when they worshiped God and ministered hope to one another in a jail cell (and, by extension, to the jailer and all within earshot). I think it would have been a fitting anthem on the lips of Deitrich Bonhoeffer when he chose to return to Germany in the face of Nazi persecution, simply to serve and suffer with his people. The same could be said of the reformers Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin. They did not run away when plague struck their hometowns, but each remained to preach the gospel in word and deed. 

“For in the hour of our darkest day we will not tremble, we won’t be afraid. Hope is rising like the light of dawn. Our God is for us, we have overcome!”

God has been so good to our country, and we should pray with urgency that He would continue to hold the forces of evil at bay (both foreign and domestic). But if we should ever be counted worthy to suffer for His name’s sake, then I hope we will have songs like this one committed to memory. Even still, in times of prosperity and peace, let us never forget the reality of our spiritual desperation–that He is the one to whom we must cling. 

I encourage you to read the lyrics and listen to “We Will Not Be Shaken” over the weekend! (Link and lyrics below)