Shaken

I really want to go to bed right now, but I've had this post rolling around in my brain for a few days & I'm feeling compelled to come write it. That usually means that someone specific needs to read it tonight. Or maybe God wants to show me something by nudging me to come sit down & write it before I hit the sack.

A few years ago, I was introduced to the music of a young Christian singer, Rachael Lampa. I was given a free CD by our then youth pastor. Actually, I think he had about 100 of these CDs & was passing them out to all the youth and whoever would take one. He really wanted to get rid of the zillion CDs. So I got one. It layed in the floorboard of my van for a while & eventually made it to the CD player. At first, none of the music really clicked for me. Her style (part old fashioned gospel choir/part teeny-bopper) wasn't really my favorite. I felt like the younger crowd would love her, but she wasn't really "my thing". And then I heard "Blessed". It blew me away. Close your eyes & listen to this.



See? Powerful lyrics, awesome vocals. Just. Wow. Falling in love with that 1 song pushed me to really listen to the rest of the CD. A few of the other songs stuck with me. There is one that reminds me to get my focus straight every time I hear it and it's been playing in my mind these last few days. The song is called "Shaken". I looked for it on youtube so you could hear it, but it's not there. (Well, there are a few 'cover' versions of it, but I'd really rather share the original.) You'll just have to take my word for it & scroll through the lyrics below.

The point of the song is that when we get complacent about our lives, when we take our focus off of Him, when we start thinking that we've got it all under control, we'll be shaken up.

I can just picture God reaching down, so many times in my life, taking my by the shoulders & shaking me. The way you'd picture a parent getting a child's attention....the "snap out of it" sort of thing. Know what I'm talking about? I know I've lived it. Over and over again.

I once heard a man in our previous church say that you are always either living in victory or fighting a battle. You can't have a victory without a battle. I've also heard it said that you can't have a mountaintop experience without having climbed up from the valley. So I ask you, which one are you living? Victory or battle? Moutaintop or valley? Because, my friends, let me tell you...if you're having a pretty calm, peaceful, content time....get ready. Your battle is coming.


I find myself getting pretty comfortable when things aren't chaotic or crisis-driven at my house. I like peace & sanity & calm. I hate the chaos & crises, but those are the very things that drive me to my knees, make me cry out to God and force me to reach out for the hands of my friends, the others in the body of Christ who are there to pull me up out of the pit, pray for me, dust me off & celebrate when I reach the mountaintop. Those "monkeywrenches" God likes to throw in to keep me on my toes almost inevitably turn out to be the biggest blessings in the end.

Look around at your life. Are you feeling pretty calm & comfortable? Are you feeling like life is going pretty smooth? Are you keeping your eyes on Him? Are you praising Him for this sweet time of your life? Or are you getting complacent about your faith during this time of blue skies & sunshine? Do you lose track of where you put your Bible? When was the last time you spent a few minutes in prayer outside of church? Is God going to have to grab you by the shoulders & shake you?

SHAKEN by Rachael Lampa
Take a ride back in history:
Let’s review the facts of eternity
To the children of Israel
And the burning sands and the desert heat...
Bitter hearts in the wilderness,
God saw that they would not confess.
With a velvet touch and an iron hand
He dragged them to the promised land.
Everything that can be will be...
Everything that can be will be...

Shaken, shaken, shaken, shaken.
Shaken, shaken, shaken, shaken.
Shaken, shaken, shaken, shaken.
God is going to shake the whole thing down.

Raise your hands children, lift them high,
Let’s join our hearts; walk in the light.
There’s a desert, there’s a wilderness
Separating us from a better life.
See, together we can walk through fire,
We can face the flame, we can reach the higher
Ground that waits in the promise land,
’Cause only faith and love will stand;
And everything that can be will be.
Everything that can be will be... (yeah)

Shaken, shaken, shaken, shaken.
Some things last forever.
Shaken, shaken, shaken, shaken.
Some things fade away.
Shaken, shaken, shaken, shaken.
God is going to shake the whole thing down.
(Ooh, shake the whole thing down.)
Everything that can be will be.
Everything that can be will be.
Everything that can be will be.
Everything that can be will be...

Shaken, shaken, shaken, shaken.
Shaken, shaken, shaken, shaken.
Some things fade away.
Shaken, shaken, shaken, shaken.
Faith, hope and love will last eternally, yeah!
Shaken, shaken, shaken, shaken.
Some things last forever.
Shaken, shaken, shaken, shaken.
Some things fade away.
Shaken, shaken, shaken, shaken.
God is going to shake the whole thing.
God is going to shake the whole thing.
God is going to shake the whole thing up!