There are cracks in our lives. As part of the human race, we all have them.  They are small; barely noticeable. They run through the foundation. They run up the walls.  Imperceptible, we have lived with them for a long time.

But the quake of the Corona Virus has shaken us, and when things shake, they shift.  Small fractures become chasms.  They gape wide and create crevasses that are dangerous to cross. We stand on the edges and recognize the impossibility looming before us.  Relationships are strained.  Health suffers.  Wealth disappears into the abyss.  We watch as our dreams fall into the hole.  Our jobs become dangerous, or disappear altogether.  Things we have never even considered, like worldwide devastation, are right in front of us.  Our minds are blown at the prospects and we find ourselves in an unfamiliar place, where everything we know is upended.

His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, ‘Once more I will shake not only the earth, but heaven as well.’ The words, once more, signify the removal of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that the unshakable may remain. Hebrews 12:26-27

The removal of what can be shaken is upon us.  We are up close, looking it in the face.  All the shakable things we have created to anchor our lives are crumbling.  We are grappling, and franticly looking for something to hold onto that will not fall into these cracks turned chasms.  While the quake is happening, all we can do is watch and wait for the unshakable to present itself, right?  Actually, there is more to do than just sit. Keep reading.

Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be filled with gratitude, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. For our God is a consuming fire.  Hebrews 12:28-29

To receive the unshakable, in the midst of a seismic shift, it says to be grateful and to worship in reverence and awe.  The passage here is talking about the fear of God.  This is not a time to be flippant in our approach.  It is not a time to mock God or discount him.  He is a consuming fire, meaning he consumes that which is the dross in our lives.  Our hidden places.  Our fears. Our selfishness.  Our greed.  He is doing it now. Our cracks have revealed the truth about us as humanity.  We are perishable.  We are more fragile than we knew.  Our flaws are many.

In the Bible, fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, a fountain of life, a place we find his mercy.  A place where we find our own humility, in his presence.  Our childlike ways are set aside in the midst of this kind of reverence.  The acceptable worship talked about here is on our faces. Individually. Sackcloth and ashes. Coming to grips with our own sin. Face to the ground. Lamenting our mistakes with sorrowful hearts.

This kind of fear isn’t fear of punishment as much as it is learning the truth.  We are small.  God is big.  We have gone our own way instead of his.  We are suffering because of it.  He is calling us back. Back to love.  Back to fellowship with him.  Back home to his heart.  He has built a bridge of love across the crevasse. We have a choice in this season.  Continue in our own shakable ways, or receive the promise of the unshakeable.

We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken, struck down, but not destroyed.  We do not lose heart. For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory that is far beyond comparison.  So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4: 8-18