Let’s allow God to shake us

By The NewsDay | Jul. 10, 2021 | 4 Min read

GROWING up in America, I water skied on lakes, surfed in oceans, scuba dived in the Caribbean, and swam in one of the seven ponds which were on my family farm.

By Ashley Thaba

GROWING up in America, I water skied on lakes, surfed in oceans, scuba dived in the Caribbean, and swam in one of the seven ponds which were on my family farm.

Water was everywhere — refreshing, life giving water! Then, I moved to Botswana. Bordering the Kalahari Desert, water is precious and rare.

I remember when I discovered the Gaborone Dam, which is honestly no bigger than ponds where I come from, but for this water-starved girl, it was literally an oasis in the desert!

To see a body of water, to feel the cool breeze of the water, to soak in the beauty, to listen to the peaceful waves lapping on the shore — it ministered to me.

Years after growing used to thinking the Gaborone Dam was as “good as it gets” in my African home, I went to visit a friend by the coast in South Africa and was reminded afresh of the vastness of the ocean. The enormity of it overwhelmed me. And God spoke to me.

So many of our friends in Botswana haven’t seen the ocean. The Gaborone Dam is their standard for a “big body of water”.

They might be content with that because they haven’t experienced what they are even missing out on. It is the same spiritually. God lovingly tells us over and over and over — surrender.

Keep Reading

Let me be in charge of your life so that I can do exceedingly more than you can think or imagine.

We say, “But, I like cheating on my spouse. A happy marriage doesn’t exist anyway!”

“But, paying a bribe to ensure I get a tender is easy. It is secure. I don’t believe there is any other way to do business.”

“But, lying helps me avoid uncomfortable situations. I don’t believe the truth would set me free.”

I heard a sermon this morning and was challenged and decided to make the subject my weekly article.

Would you be willing to pray, “God, I want to experience more of you! I want to hear you. I want to feel your Spirit. But, the only way to do that is to get more of you and less of me! Convict me of every area where I am holding on to doing it my way when you are trying so hard to get me to do it your way!

And Lord, I give you permission to shake me if I am holding on too tight!”

Shake my job and expose my lies if I am acting in sin. Shake my marriage and expose my cheating. Shake my children and expose areas I could be a better parent.

Shake my thought life and expose areas where I am not thinking about that which is praiseworthy. Shake me — because I want more of you and less of me! Search me and know my heart.

I meet with hundreds of people and one consistent comment, “I don’t feel God. I don’t hear God. But I want to hear God speak to me.”

I propose that He is speaking but to hear Him, you need less of you and more of an indwelling of His Spirit. More of walking in the Spirit and less of walking in the flesh. More of doing things by His guidance even if that is hard for you.

Is this easy? Nope! Why? Because it takes faith to do things God’s way. The world’s way makes more sense to our logical minds.

Nonetheless, here is the thing. God wants to give us the ocean and we are settling for a small desert dam.

Sadly, we are not saving our lives or blessing our lives — but rather robbing ourselves of the blessings God wants to give us.

Our sin is separating us from hearing God. Going in a direction away from God keeps us from going to God. We choose to walk away from the most powerful source of love, joy, peace, kindness, etc, in the universe!

And we do it because we are afraid God will cramp our style and keep us from having fun.

Like the person who has never seen the ocean and has become content thinking the dam is the most amazing body of water.

“See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from Him who warns us from heaven? 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.” Hebrews 12:25-27

Lord, help us to not refuse to hear your words. Let us be open to being shaken. Let us understand that the less we are concerned about our needs and leave those needs to you, the more we act in such a way that blesses us and blesses those around us.