I shall not be moved

Not moved

if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister. – Colossians 1.23

There is an old African-American spiritual song that probable goes back to the days of American slavery. Many of these songs were work songs sung in the fields as the slaves laboured day after day. This particular song goes something like this:

I shall not, I shall not be moved
I shall not, I shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's standing by the water
I shall not be moved

In the 60s and 70s this song was adopted by many protest movements, but originally its purpose was much closer to the Bible meaning.

Great numbers of the slaves in the American South were believers. Their harsh conditions and unbearable situations must have been a real challenge to their faith. No matter if the slave owner was kind or cruel or somewhere in between they still lived with the fact that they were owned by another human being. The song expressed their faith that no matter what happened they would not be moved from their faith in Christ.

That’s the kind of attitude Paul is writing about here. He says a mark of the true believer is that they are not moved away from their faith. Paul is saying that if we truly are Christ’s we will continue in the faith. We will be rooted and grounded and we will not be moved in our faith.

So the next time the storm clouds roll around us and the task seem too hard time – let us join in that great old spiritual – ‘I shall not be moved!’