If you’re any sort of a movie buff, you’re probably aware of one of the trademark lines one hears in James Bond movies. Cocktails are found at the heart of every Bond adventure, and for the super-spy himself his frequent request is for a dry martini – shaken, not stirred.
I’m not talking about cocktails. For that matter, I’m not even referring to that type of shaken or stirred.
I’m referring to the things which stir up our soul and drive us into action – whether that action is dropping to our knees in prayer or stepping into the battle before us.
Today’s verse is a faith declaration of our trust in the Lord:
WITH HIM AT MY RIGHT HAND, I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN.
I try to make it a practice that the blessing of God is the first thing to pass my lips when I awake and the word of God is my last thought of the day as I lay down to sleep. Today’s verse is part of my end-of-day ritual, which comes from Psalm 16 and Psalm 18.
As I lay my head upon my pillow at night, I invite the Lord to speak to me in my sleep by beginning to pray from Psalm 16, saying …
I bless the Lord, who counsels me; night after night my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me.
With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Then I move on to some verses from Psalm 18, and begin to pray …
I love you, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my stronghold, and my deliverer;
My Savior, my God, my might in whom I trust.
My buckler, the horn of my salvation, and my refuge.
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
so shall I be saved from my enemies.
I said “begin to pray” because I cannot remember the last night that I actually got as far as the verse that begins with, “I will call upon the Lord.” I’m usually asleep by then. That’s because, as I bless the Lord who counsels me and instructs me, His peace comes powerfully upon me. Images of assassinations are gone, replaced by His presence. Cares of the day melt like mountains before Him. I may be awoken during the night by one emergency or another, but He keeps me in perfect peace because I have determined to set my mind and heart upon Him. He truly does give sleep to His beloved.
WITH HIM AT MY RIGHT HAND, I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN.
Life is hard. Our enemy is intent on throwing everything he can at us to steal our joy, kill our passion and destroy our witness. The battle is real, but the victory we have in Christ is more so; because the one who is in us — the one fighting the battle on our behalf — is greater by far.
The Apostle Paul talks about experiencing the constant victory of God as he faces the battles of life. He doesn’t say life is simple and comfortable, he is hard pressed on every side, but not crushed. He’s not bearing the weight of the battle on his own, Jesus has given His Holy Spirit to strengthen us in life’s conflicts. Paul admits to being perplexed, but he’s not in despair. Even the man God used to pen most of the letters in the New Testament had times where what God was doing just didn’t make sense. But he didn’t give up, because Paul trusted God; when we truly trust, we do not need to understand.
Trust can drive our actions even when we don’t understand. There are not many people that I could call on the phone and simply say, “I need you to get on the next plane and come to Florida NOW! I’ll explain when I see you” and then just hang up. Not many, but some. There are those who love me so much and trust me that deeply. Driven by their heart and not their head, they’d be on their way — praying as they came! I want to trust God that much!!!
Any step of faith can be considered a foolish risk at some point. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something greater than fear is more significant, and worthy of the potential sacrifice. The brave do not live forever, but cowards do not live at all.
FAITH is not faith until you do something about it; until it stirs you to action.
Paul spoke of being persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. He knew that he was never alone in the fight. When the darkness he faced stirred his spirit into engaging the enemy, he knew he’d never fight alone. He always carried around the death of Jesus in his body, so that the life of Jesus would also be revealed. He’d be stirred into action, but never shaken. He trusted that the Lord was right beside him as he entered the fray.
WITH HIM AT MY RIGHT HAND, I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN.
Back to James Bond for a final illustration. In the movie Goldfinger, Bond finds himself trapped in the lair of the villain; strapped spread-eagle to a table. Goldfinger is about to cut him in half with an industrial laser. A tool, he explains, that “emits an extraordinary light, not to be found in nature.” The power of the laser begins to be demonstrated as it slowly slices a metal table in two as the beam moves upwards towards his nether bits. As Goldfinger walks away we get one of the most memorable elements of Bond dialogue. “Do you expect me to talk?” – “No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die! There is nothing you could talk to me about that I don’t already know.”
Perhaps the illustration is a poor one, because everything in it is backwards.
It is we, the servants of the Most High God, who are called to let His light shine through us. We are to be “an extraordinary light, not to be found in nature.” A light found only in the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The darkness of the world met by the light of Christ, and overcome. And unlike Bond’s beverages, though we are stirred, we cannot be shaken.
Also, unlike Goldfinger’s dealings with James Bond, we are expected to both die AND talk. We who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that His life may also be revealed in our mortal body. We are called to die to ourselves and live for Him. To jump on the plane without knowing the WHY or the WHAT because we love and trust the WHO that is calling. And to TALK!!! Oh my, to talk of His love, His glory, His forgiveness, His call, His mission.
And as we walk the walk and talk the talk we offer a place in God’s “Operation Grand Slam.” He intends to bring all who will abandon their sin into relationship with Him … forever.
Goldfinger doubted that Bond knew what he claimed to know. He was convinced that there was nothing Bond could talk to him about that he did not already know. But Bond simply asked, “Can you afford to take that chance?” Goldfinger knew what was at risk. He knew the stakes were too high for him to gamble.
Goldfinger couldn’t afford to gamble everything and risk losing his life and his entire future.
Can you?
