Be Not Soon Shaken in Mind, Or Be Troubled

“Unperturbable.” I heard the Lord speak this strange, little-used word to my heart at the end of 2007. It is not in the Bible, so a concordance search will not help, but the many facets of its meaning are, and in the months after, I jotted down many Scripture passages that convey what it has come to mean to me. I know if the Lord spoke it to my heart, He intended that I should not only study it, but pursue it, and share it with you, His people. And I assure you, if there was ever a time to be unperturbable, it is now!

Unperturbable describes a person who is unable or not susceptible to being perturbed—which means to disquiet thoroughly, to disturb greatly, to agitate. Note the adverbs thoroughly and greatly, because they denote the extreme degree of being: Anxious, upset, fretful, worried, fearful, riled up, falling apart, ticked off. It’s the “TURBS” on steroids: Disturbed, turbulent, in turmoil! When someone is in a state of perturbance, the quiet place of his soul is in turmoil, and it affects his whole life.

David said, “Why art thou cast down, o my soul, and why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance” (Ps. 42:5).
Two things David stated about perturbance: It’s located in the soul, and the remedy is to hope in God! The Hebrew word for soul is NEPHESH and its root verb form means “to relax, to rest.” God intends for us to have rest in our souls—not to be restless, fretful, distressed, disturbed, and perturbed!

David said in Psalm 23:5, “He restoreth my soul.” Notice that REST is a part of RESTORE. God wants your soul to abide in a state of restfulness—not fretfulness! This is a state of inner calm that is unaffected and unchanged by outer turmoil. Its quiet is not disturbed by any outward circumstances: Political upheaval, economic uncertainties, especially those that hit home in job losses, pay cuts, investment losses, etc. Instead, when these troubles come, you talk to your soul: “O Soul, why are you disquieted? Look up! Hope in God! Trust in the Lord!”

He Shall Deliver Thee In 7 Troubles

This is what Job 5:19 states: “He shall deliver thee in six troubles; yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.” Why 7? Seven always connotes the entirety of something. Thus it means, “in ALL your troubles”! In verses 20-22 he specifies some of these troubles, and they’re not trivial: “In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.” These refer to severe economic loss and war—like what we face today.

“Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongues; neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.” (He did not say if—but when!) “At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh…”
Talk about being unperturbable! This is a picture of someone who is not shook up by troubles, even disasters, because he is fixed on God. He knows God is his source in every season: Good times, hard times, youth, middle age and old age!

These following synonyms in the Bible will give you a treasure of Scriptures that you can look up, that I know will thrill you as they did me:
Quiet, rest, trusting, hopeful, confident, committed, fully persuaded, unwavering, peaceful, steadfast, unmoveable, rooted, grounded, settled, established, stability, stayed upon the Lord. Here’s one of my favorites: “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid…” (Psalm 112:7-8).

It was the prophet Habakkuk who first declared these powerful words: “…But the just shall live by his faith” (Hab. 2:4). He lived in a season of economic failure too, but he was not frightened nor perturbed by the great losses the nation faced. He spoke with utmost confidence: “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls. YET I will rejoice in the LORD. I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Hab. 3: 17-18).

“It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord” (Lam. 3:26). This is the Bible definition of unperturable!

About The Author

Sharon

Sharon Hardy Knotts is the daughter of R.G. & Doranne Hardy. She has served alongside of her parents in ministry at Faith Tabernacle Church, Baltimore, Maryland since childhood. Sharon was baptized in the Holy Spirit at age 7 in an old-fashioned tent revival, where she was slain in the Spirit, speaking in tongues. She began “preaching” in youth services at age 9, and began traveling with her father in evangelistic meetings at age 13.

Like her father and grandmother before her (Mother Mary Hardy), Sharon is an avid student of the Bible and holds a Master’s in Theology from CLST, Columbus, Georgia. She is an accomplished teacher of the Word and also an anointed preacher. The marriage of these different delivery styles has produced scores of ministry tapes on various pertinent topics, which appeal to many believers.

Sharon and her husband Benny serve in fulltime ministry at R.G. Hardy Ministries. He prints Faith Is Action and oversees its publication and distribution. Family: Three grown children, Scott & Todd Stubblefield, and Sarah Knotts. Daughters-in-laws: Corinne & Amy Stubblefield. Grandsons: Noah & Matthew Stubblefield are Scott’s sons. Sharon especially enjoys writing and serves as Editor of Faith Is Action and other Ministry publications. She also writes essays and poetry, some of which can be found here.

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