Shaking, Shifting and Sifting

I have heard these three words a lot lately. I have heard them from people in government, in the education system, from friends, and from the pulpit. They have been used in a physical sense, in a business arena, in the changes occurring around us and in the spiritual atmosphere. So, if we break down these three words, what exactly are we talking about?

Without boring you with definitions from Mr. Webster or from Lady Google, the basic general consensus is change. Obviously, shaking can be used in the physical, as in an earthquake or the shaking of someone to wake them up. 

Shifting can easily be explained in the physical as movement. The sands shift on a beach, an entire mountain can shift with an explosion. We can shift gears, a higher RPM, if you will. We can also shift our sight from what we have been looking at to something different.

Sifting occurs in the baking world when we sift flour or sugar to get the purer, more valuable ingredients. The earth can be sifted, as well, to find valuable jewels or gold. So why did I explain this to you all? Because I believe we are being shaken, shifted and sifted as a society. We have changed a lot as a people as the world has rapidly shaken things up, shifted our attention and sifted our personalities. Even in the last 10 years alone, we have seen a drastic change in government, education, religion, employment and neighborhoods. If we take a look at the places we live, even here in small town America, we can see the difference. Medical changes, insurance changes, employment changes, and not all for the good. The biggest change is in technology. It has opened our lives up to anyone, everywhere, and we have jumped in. The newspaper once informed us, then our favorite broadcaster on the nightly news. Now we search and scroll, and we subject ourselves to the ideas and opinions of what comes up first. And they have taken advantage.

OK, you all knew the message from the altar was coming. Even our churches are being shaken, shifted and sifted. Well, news flash, they always have been. No matter what you believe or what denomination is attached to a particular place of worship, it is being weighed and examined. Once by the people attending, and again by a heavenly father. Now the hard part. The church written about in scripture is not talking about the building in your neighborhood. It is talking about the collective body of the church, the bride. Each of us individually and in unity, another word that keeps coming up.

Our daily lives are spiritually shaken. We need to be shifting off our own needs and onto our brothers’ and sisters’ as we come under one accord. Get to the meat and wean off the milk. We are also being sifted. Leaving only the pure, good things that were gifted to us behind to use as our maker advises us.

There is a shaking, shifting and sifting occurring in each of us and in all our walks with God. Things are changing. Are we seeing it, or are we stuck in the same stuff that keeps us entertained, distracted and led way off course? I also have an answer for all of this. Whether you believe in a higher power or something else, your life is being shaken. The key is unity. Sticking together and not picking up a rock to throw at something you don’t understand. We are all individuals, with ideas and thoughts of our own, but must not dismiss these things so easily when we don’t agree. 

When the shaking, shifting and sifting starts to be felt, we must stand in unity or everything will fall apart worse than we can imagine. I’m Jess saying.