Sunday 12 June, 2016

22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this! Jesus of Nazareth was a man who had God’s approval. God did miracles, wonders and signs among you through Jesus. You yourselves know this. 23 Long ago God planned that Jesus would be handed over to you. With the help of evil people, you put Jesus to death. You nailed him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead. He set him free from the suffering of death. It wasn’t possible for death to keep its hold on Jesus. 25 David spoke about him. He said, “ ‘I know that the Lord is always with me. Because he is at my right hand, I will always be secure. 26 So my heart is glad and joy is on my tongue. My whole body will be full of hope. 27 You will not leave me in the place of the dead. You will not let your holy one rot away. 28 You always show me the path that leads to life. You will fill me with joy when I am with you.’

We read here “because He (the Lord) is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”  I immediately thought of the worship song we are currently singing in church which features the phrase “we will not be shaken”.

This is a direct reference to Ps. 16:8, where David declares, “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With Him at my right hand I will not be shaken”. King David (like most of us) had a lot of things in his life that potentially could have shaken him. But he kept his eyes on the Lord and was aware that He had a powerful protector at his right hand.

I like the imagery depicted here – Jesus at my right hand! It’s easy to forget when something tries to shake my world that I have a powerful Saviour standing with me to fight on my behalf. That is why we can confidently sing and say “we will not be shaken”.

Nothing can stand against our all-powerful God. I don’t have to fight my battles alone – what a comfort this is! My job is to keep my eyes on Him and remember that He is at my right hand.

Right now, I’m closing my eyes and thinking of a situation currently I face that threatens to shake me. I’m seeing Jesus standing at my right hand, and it changes everything. I see myself facing it with confidence because I have a champion at my side. I will not be shaken.

Written by Shelley Witt