Unshakable Faith

By David Faust

In places like Japan and California where earthquakes are a constant threat, builders go to great lengths to ensure new buildings can withstand quakes. They dig foundations deep into the earth and engineer buildings to be unshakable. 

Do you know a friend who is unshakable? Someone who stays cool under pressure, like a basketball player who calmly hits two free-throws with no time left on the clock?  

Stability is an unheralded quality, but it’s important—especially in seasons like the present filled with so much cultural upheaval. Mature, unshakable Christians are steady, dependable, and consistent. They are not like ocean waves, tossed about by every wind of doctrine. They don’t adopt every fad that comes along. They aren’t on fire for the Lord one day and lukewarm the next.  

Secure in the Lord 

Psalm 125:1 says, “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever” (v. 1, New International Version).  

The Jews associated Mount Zion with the temple and the presence of God. In biblical times the Philistines, Assyrians, and Babylonians attacked Jerusalem, and the Romans tried to tear it apart stone by stone; but no outside enemies can remove God’s presence from his people. When you became a Christian, “You have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Hebrews 12:22). Because of Christ, “we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken” (Hebrews 12:28).  

During a mission trip to Africa, my friend Gary discovered a lump in his thigh. By the time he got home the lump had grown larger. A few weeks earlier, he was feeling fine and serving busily on a church staff. Suddenly he found himself undergoing cancer treatments and fighting for his life. Gary was shaken up, but his faith (and his sense of humor) remained strong. In his hospital room, Gary kept a life-size cardboard cut-out of the Three Stooges, which he invited everyone who visited him to sign. When he died, his feet remained planted on God’s Word.  

Remember Jesus’ story about the wise and foolish builders? Storms will come, but they won’t destroy us if we build our houses on the rock, not on shifting sand. 

Surrounded by the Lord 

Psalm 125 provides another interesting word picture. “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore” (v. 2). Basketball teams sometimes use a trapping defense where two defenders converge on the player with the ball and surround him so he can’t escape. In old TV shows, police shouted at bad guys, “Come out with your hands up. We’ve got you surrounded!” 

Do you ever feel surrounded by your problems? The apostle Paul was “hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair” (2 Corinthians 4:8).  

The Lord has us surrounded! If we try to run away like Jonah did, the Lord will catch up with us even if he has to use a whale to bring us back. If we argue with him like Job did, we will find our arms aren’t long enough to box with God. David prayed, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139:7-10). The Lord surrounds us even in unlikely places like hospital emergency rooms and funeral homes.  

There is only one reasonable thing to do when you’re surrounded, and that’s surrender. 

Surrendered to the Lord 

A wise person says, “All to Jesus I surrender; all to him I freely give.” That includes surrendering our problems and worries; our talents and abilities; our past, present, and future. 

During a mission trip to Ethiopia, I noticed that instead of merely waving one hand to greet friends, people would put both of their hands up, palms forward. A missionary explained that this custom of waving both hands probably came from the days when people carried weapons. It was a way of showing you were safe and empty-handed, with nothing in your hands to harm anyone.  

In Bible times, people often addressed God with their hands uplifted and outstretched in prayer. The person with unshakable faith approaches the Lord with empty hands and says, “I surrender. I give up my self-reliance. I trust in you above all else.” 

Psalm 125 ends with a short benediction: “Peace be upon Israel” (v. 5). Peace comes when we are secure in Christ, surrounded by his presence, and surrendered to the unshakable Rock of our salvation. 

This is the second in a series of articles based on selected verses from the Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134). 

David Faust serves as contributing editor of Christian Standard and senior associate minister with East 91^st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is the author of Married for Good.