Unshaken: Knowing God is Right Beside You

What if your life stopped drifting and started moving with purpose, even when the world feels unsteady? We’re setting the tone for 2026 with a bold commitment to intentional focus and a simple anchor from Psalm 16:8: “I keep my eyes always on the Lord; with him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” That single word—always—reshapes how we think about discipleship, stability, and peace under pressure.

We open up about the difference between religion and relationship, and why routines can never replace closeness with God. David’s confidence wasn’t theory; it was forged in private moments, failures, and fresh mercy. Together, we break down what it means for God to stand at your right hand—your vulnerable side—and why that changes how you face fear, uncertainty, and spiritual warfare. You don’t need control to be steady; you need closeness. That’s where peace grows.

You’ll hear practical ways to refocus attention when emotions flare: short declarations over panic, choosing presence over impulse, and aligning decisions with Jesus’ way in ordinary moments. We talk storms, not as problems to deny, but as places to declare God’s nearness. This is a year to move from belief as a concept to faith as a lifestyle—real obedience, real questions, and real transformation. If your heart is hungry to grow and your mind craves clarity, pull up a chair. Let’s choose relationship over routine and walk unshaken, together.

If this conversation encouraged you, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review so more people can find hope and focus for the year ahead.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Welcome to the Christian Cafe, the place where the bread of life is always served hot and fresh, straight from God's Word. Every episode is designed to nourish your soul, strengthen your faith, and encourage you in your daily walk with Christ. At the Christian Cafe, you'll find practical teaching, encouragement from the scriptures, and spiritual insights that you can apply right where you are. Whether you're at home, at work, or on the go, this is your place to pause, be refreshed, and be reminded of God's goodness. Stay connected by following us on Facebook at the Christian Cafe and send your prayer requests to theChristianCafe2022 at gmail.com. Because here at the cafe, we believe in the power of prayer and the fellowship of believers. Check out our webpage, www.podpage.com The Christian Cafe. So, grab a seat, place your order, and get ready for a serving of God's word that's fresh, hot, and life-changing. This is the Christian Cafe.

Vision For 2026 And Discipleship

Announcements And Book Giveaway

SPEAKER_02 2:25

I'm glad that you're here because this is not just another episode. And this is not just another year. Welcome to 2026. It's a great time in the Lord. I tell you what, a lot of great things has taken place. And I'm excited about what God is going to do here in 2026. He's promising his word that he's going to do great and mighty things. All we need to do is trust him. Welcome. Thank you for tuning in today. I'm so glad that you chose to take time out of your busy schedule and listen to another episode of the Christian Cafe. We're just a wonderful time here in the Lord, and I know that you'll be blessed if you would just put your trust in Him. I told you at the last episode of last year that we're going to be beginning doing video podcasts. And that's still in the works. We're still working out some kinks, and it's just getting close. If you paid attention to our website and our Facebook page, you'll see some things coming up and taking place. We're getting there. It's just taking a little longer than I hoped for, but I'm looking for God to do great things. We're going to begin talking about discipleship in these upcoming videos. And we're going to touch on something today that's going to lead us into it. And I know that you'll be blessed when we get to it, but I'm thankful that God has allowed us to do this. We're going to be co-hosting with my wife. She's a great woman of God. And I know you'll be blessed by her because she brings a lot of different things to the podcast. And I know that you'll love her as much as I do. Again, I'd like to just add here if you want to send a prayer request or donation of anything to help the ministry, you can do that by going to the Christian Cafe 2022 at gmail.com, and I'll be glad to send you a link of how you can do that. But nothing else, just send in a prayer request or send us a drop us a line. Let us know that you're listening. Let us know that this podcast is blessing you. We see the downloads and we see what things are going on through our podcast host. And we're in 39 countries now and all over the United States. Did not believe that would be possible when I started this back in 2022. God is just doing some great things, and I'm expecting to do greater things. 2026 is a year of intentional focus for me and for the Christian Cafe. It's a year where we stop drifting and we start surviving and start living on purpose in Christ. The Lord gave me a verse at the beginning of this year, and it's become a declaration over my life. It's something I I say every single day and parts of the day, but it's Psalm 168, and it simply says, I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. The Lord always has let me rephrase that. The word always has been burning in my spirit ever since I read this verse. Always is not occasionally, it's not when it's convenient, it's not when life is easy, but always. Think about that word always. It means a lot. Study it out. This year on the Christian Cafe, we're going deeper. We're going to talk real faith, real obedience, real struggles, and a very real God who still speaks, He still leads, and He still transforms lives. So wherever you're listening from, pull up a chair, grab your coffee, and open your heart. Because what God wants to do in you this year is bigger than what you've been settling for. That's where discipleship really begins. Discipleship isn't about how long you've been saved or how many scriptures you can quote or how often you're in church. Discipleship is about who you're following when no one is watching. It's choosing a daily alignment over occasional inspiration. This year on the Christian Cafe, we're not just talking about believing in Jesus, we're talking about walking with Him, learning His way, submitting to His leading, letting Him shape our decisions, our character, and our direction. So over the coming episodes, we're going to break down discipleship where it really lives in everyday choices, real struggles, honest questions, and obedient steps. If you're hungry to grow, willing to be challenged, and ready to move from faith as a concept to faith as a lifestyle, then you're in the right place. So sit back, get ready, and after this break, we're gonna get into it.

SPEAKER_00 8:16

Hello friends, I'm Keith Nix, and I am excited to make available to you my latest book called Losing Jesus in Church. The sad reality is that in the very place we should find Jesus, come to know Jesus, growing our relationship with Jesus, so many people lose sight of him. The religious routines, the traditions take the place of a real relationship. And I wrote this book to help those who have experienced that return to a vibrant relationship with Christ and to help others stay consistent in their walk with the Lord and avoid, I hope, the pitfalls. So I encourage you to get your copy today. It's a small book, won't take you long to read it. It's got some study questions we've put in there with it. You can do it as a group study. I hope you will. And my prayer is that God's gonna use this to speak into your life and to grow your faith in Christ.

Psalm 16:8 Read And Framed

Relationship Over Religion

Always Keeping Our Eyes On The Lord

God At Your Right Hand Explained

Stability, Peace, And Closeness

Witness, Emotions, And Focus

SPEAKER_02 9:57

I'm so glad of that today that God is working everything for my good. Yes, that is a great book that Pastor Keats is talking about. If you would like to copy a copy of that, drop me an email at the ChristianCafe2022 at gmail.com. I'll be glad to get that to you. Free of charge, doesn't cost you a thing. It's a very good book. I've read it a couple of times. Each time I read it, I always get something great out of it. So shoot me a copy and we're glad to get you a copy of it today. Amen. On today's episode, we're gonna dive into Psalm 16 and verse 8. Like I said, it's a verse that's been shaping my focus and my walk. And honestly, my peace, too. This isn't just a memory verse, it's a stability verse. Let's read it. It says, I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me. Let's talk about what it really means to live unshaken in a world that is constantly shaking. There is so much turmoil going on in today's world. We got ISIS and Minnesota and all the the chaos there and the chaos all over the world in our foreign countries. So many things that is going on, and it's easy to get uns to get shaken by it if we look at the world's view. But I've been reminded this year, in the 30 days thus far in this year, that if I can keep my focus on the Lord, then I don't have to look at the things around me, and therefore I'm not shaken by it. I can be unshaken as the word says. And you know, David doesn't just say I hope or I think he says I know. He knew because he had a relationship, he didn't have religion. Unlike a lot of our our teachers and our our scholars and in pulpits today are teaching about a religion. A religion is something that we you do all the time, that's not really doesn't matter. Like it I religiously every morning I get up at 4 a.m. The clock goes off at 4 a.m. And religiously I have a pattern. I get up, I get dressed, I take my morning meds, I go in there, I start my coffee, and I fix my lunch for the day. Then I go in, I sit down and watch the morning news for about 15 and 20 minutes, and I leave to go to work at 4:45 a.m. and punch in at 5 a.m. every single morning. I do that religiously, Monday through Friday. There's not a relationship there. It's something I do religiously. A relationship is something that we spend time putting time into, getting to know something, to get to know about the person, and that's what David done. He had confidence with God, he built private moments with God, not something he stood up and declared to the world that he was doing, but he actually spent time with God. You don't get this kind of certainty overnight. It's forged with experience. And David had a lot of experience with God. He failed God many times, but he knew the relationship that he had with God would sustain him as long as he kept his eyes and his focus on him. So many times we lose focus. We allow the things around us to get in our way, and we allow our emotions to play a big part. And that's one thing I have been fighting. I'm gonna be straight up honest with you and transparent with you today. There's a lot of times I do a lot of things out of emotions because I take my eyes off of God. I take my eyes off of Him and focus on my problem and not realizing that the problem's been solved. All I gotta do is trust Him. And I'm learning that. Yes, I I get upset sometimes, and I still try to work out emotions, but when I do that, I always mess up. And my my wife, my loving wife, as I said, she's a God-fearing woman. She's always telling me to keep my eyes on him, to trust him, to trust what he said he was going to do. And that's what we got to do, guys. We've got to keep our trust on him. A lot of believers struggle because they believe in God, but they don't yet know him. And when you don't know him, everything feels unstable. Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever felt unstable in your life and what you're doing? It could be because that you know we're struggling with our trust in God. Could be. I mean, think about that word always. It doesn't mean occasionally, it doesn't mean just on Sundays. It doesn't mean when life's good. It means that the Lord is always with us. And we should always keep our eyes on him. We know he is with us. We we should always, you know, look at him and keep our eyes on him. I mean that verse says it. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. It's hard. I'm not gonna lie. You know, but you know, if if I want to live in peace, then I need to be in God's presence. It's gotta be constant. Even when feelings aren't positive, even when things are looking bad, even when you know we're in confusion, or if we're in a waiting season, we're getting impatient about what God's telling us, you know, we need to be in God's presence, keep our eyes on Him always. God's nearness is not based on our performance. Did you hear me? God's nearness is not based on our performance. Some of us think God backed away because life got hard. But the truth of the matter, he stepped closer. That's a relationship. That's when we know we have a good friend. That's when we know that no matter what we're facing, he's right there. He's not gonna leave us. I I've had friends that that's walked away from me when things got hard. You know, they always said, I'll be right there for you. You know, if you need me, holler. Call me, I'll be there. And then what happens? And I I know you some of you that that's hearing this, you've had the same issues. You've had friends that tell you this, you've even had family members that tell you, I'm right there. No matter what you're going through, I'm there. But the very minute there's trouble, where are they at? Where are they at when we really need somebody? You know, I've been there, and I know a lot of us have. And that's why this verse is so, I don't know, it touches my heart so much because I know that no matter what I'm facing, I don't have to be shaken because if I keep my focus on him and rely and trust him, then you know what could go wrong? Because he is right beside me. This is a position matter. This is where God has positioned himself, you know, on our right side. This isn't poetic language, this is positional language. God isn't talking about geography here, he's talking about authority, protection, and alignment. And he's being very intentional with the phrase right side. The right side represents strength, authority, and support. God isn't watching from a distance, he's engaged with us. You're not walking along, even when it feels quiet, even when we don't think that God is there. He's there. He's positioned us on the right side of us to give us strength, to give us authority, to give us support through everything we face. In the scriptures, the right hand represents power and victory. In Exodus chapter 15, verse 6, he says, Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power. In Psalms 110 and verse 1, it says, Sit at my right hand. So when God says, He's at your right hand, he's saying, You're not standing alone. My strength is active on your behalf. Don't you like that? Don't you like it that when the things that we're facing that we're going through that seems to be the hardest, that he's right there, he's giving us strength to get to it. It's not a passive presence. This is executive authority at work. You know, in ancient warfare, a soldier's shield was held on the left arm, leaving the right side exposed. So when David says, because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken, he's declaring, God Himself is guarding my most valuable, vulnerable side. Because if we're protected, if the soldier is protecting on this side, there's nothing right. Who else is there? God. He's positioning himself right where you are the weakest, not where you look strongest. Why should we get protection on our strongest side? God is on our weakest side, the side where we need him the most. That's where he is. That's pinnacle Pentecostal truth right there. Biblically, the right side is the place of honor and blessing. In Matthew 25, she are placed on the right side. In Romans 8:34, Jesus sits on the right hand of the Father. God isn't tolerating you, He's standing with you in favor. You're not fighting for approval. You're fighting from approval. It equals alignment. Not control. God's not trying to control you. This big this one's big here. God at your right hand doesn't mean he drags you. It means you've chosen alignment. David says, I keep my eyes always on the Lord. That's intentional focus. In order to keep your eyes on something, you've got to really think about it. You really got to really focus on doing that. And sometimes we have a hard problem with that. Keeping our eyes on focus on something. I have a focus problem anything. I can lose focus in a heartbeat. I can be reading something and my mind jumped completely someplace else. And I read a whole paragraph and couldn't tell you what I read. Why? Because I lost my focus. And I'm sure we've all been guilty of it. Every day it happens. We lose focus on something. But David's trying to tell us if we can keep our eyes always on him and focus on the Lord, things can't won't be as hard as they are. We just got to be do it. We got to be disciplined and devoted to that. We've got to have a daily surrender. When you keep your eyes on him, he keeps his hand on you. Ain't that just wonderful? The bottom line is when God says he's at your right side, he's saying, I got your blind spot. I got your battles. I got your authority. And as long as you stay aligned with me, you will not be shaken. Not might. Not be shaken. But will not be shaken. I'm so glad of that. God's silence does not mean his absence. I just can't get over that. You know, I know that if I keep him on my right side, I keep him focused, I can't be shaken. Can you say that? Can you say that, you know, he's got your blind spot, he's got your back, in other words. No matter what you're facing, no matter what you're going through, he is there. He will see you through it. He's already done it. I will not be shaken. Notice David doesn't say, I'm trying not to be shaken. He says, I will not be shaken. That's stability. It's the fruit of presence. Peace isn't the absence of storms. No, it's not. It's confidence in who's beside you. When God is positioned correctly in your life, fear loses a grip. Fear is something else, I'm telling you. But if you position God in the right place in your life, then fear has to go. You don't need control to be stable. You need closeness. You need God closely with you. You don't need to push him off when things go bad. And that's what happens sometimes. Ain't it the truth? Sometimes in our hardest battles, what do we want to do? We want to push him away. Every time something comes that we that you know happens and we just don't think we can go through it, what do we do? We push God away and we start acting on emotions. The reason I can say this is because I experienced this. I've experienced this here just recently. That something happened at work and all of a sudden I got scared. I got afraid. I got threatened. And what did I want to do? I want to push it away. I want to push God away. I want to say, God, this is not your problem, this is my problem. I created it. You know, I caused it. Then, you know, let me fix it. But God's not saying that. God's saying, draw near to me. He said, if you draw near to me, I'll draw near to you. He'll take you under his wings and he'll guide us through every situation we face. It doesn't matter what the situation is, it doesn't matter. If we're always keeping our eyes on the Lord, then we cannot be shaken. And that's what that's what David was trying to tell us here. He says, you know, you just need his closeness. You just need right beside him. And I'm so thankful that, you know, God is there. I'm so thankful that, you know, whatever I face, whatever I've come against, God is right beside me. But there are so many times, and I'm I know that there's so many of you out there that feels the same, but there's so many times that we let our emotions get the best of us, and we'll say, we just push God away. We'll forget what the Lord is trying to tell us, we'll forget that you know he's there. And guess what happens? We miss a blessing. Not only that, that we miss blessing others. Because trust me, guys, when I say this, there are people around you that are watching your every move, they're watching everything you do, they see how you react to every situation in your life. They see you when you get mad over something. They see you when you get so down and depressed that you don't smile, you don't have an encouraging word. When you go through all the time and you're posting encouragement on Facebook, but then when they see you, it's like you're so you're negative Nancy, you might say. They notice that. And they'll say, Well, why do I want what he says he has if it's not gonna make me feel any better? People are watching us. There is a place in God that we can get, that he is surrounding us, that his presence is so real and so rich that he just floods us, and people know that and they see it and they sense it and they realize that what you have is special. You have something they don't have. So if life feels shaky right now, maybe the question isn't, why is this happening? Maybe the question is, where is my focus? David didn't deny the storm, he declared the presence of God. I like that. He didn't deny the storm that he was in. I mean, you're gonna go in the storm. That's just the way it's gonna be. There's no way around it. God does it just because we're a child of God, just because we serve him and we have a relationship, doesn't mean we're not gonna go through storms. We're gonna go through a storm. That's just the way it is. But when we declare the presence of God over our storm, see, when Jesus came walking on the water with Peter, or let me rephrase that, when the disciples were in a boat and the storm raged, they didn't realize that the one that calmed the storm was in their presence. So they didn't know that the one that could calm it was there. They didn't realize that. Why? Because they took their eyes off of the one that could bring peace and put their eyes on what was actually happening around them. They saw the waves, they saw the wind, they saw that their boat was about to catch eyes. And then one realized, hey, Jesus is with us. And they woke him and he spoke to the storm. Say, I don't care what storm you're facing, I don't care what storm you're going through or what you're facing today, speak peace. Get a hold of the one, get in the presence of God, get into the presence that surrounds you, that protects you from all these things, because he's on your right side. You've lost focus. Don't ask why this is happening. Get to your focus, put your focus back on God. Because when we declare what we know and not what we feel, when we know that God said it, but we let our emotions to take control when we declare it and we start speaking 16, verse 168, over our lives every day, every day, our family, our future, we can recenter our awareness on God's nearness. I challenge you to do that today. I challenge you to refocus your yourself, refocus what you're what you're taking your eyes off of the one that has worked in the past. Get back to where our focus is on God. Let our emotions be pushed aside, let our fears be pushed aside. Don't let the enemy destroy you, because that's what he's there to do. He's there to destroy us, he's there to to you know make us, you know, take our eyes off God. You know, he can cause all kinds of things to come up and and get our minds off of him, our focus off of him. I mean, he knows that we're in the last days. He knows that, you know, Jesus is coming, he knows that you know he don't have much time left. So therefore, he's trying to distract us. He's trying to get us to get off path. But you know something? If we could just remind ourselves that Jesus is right beside us, he's protecting our weak side, whatever you're you go through on a single everyday basis, that you know causes you pain, that you know, takes away your joy, your happiness, then you can have victory. You can take authority over it because Jesus said that you have the power, you have power to tread over serpents and scorpions, and that nothing shall anything hurt you. Thanks for hanging out with us at the Christian Cafe today. This is where faith meets real life. If this episode spoke to you, share it, comment, let us know how Psalm 168 is anchored in the walk. Until next time, keep your eyes on the Lord and stay close to his presence and live.

SPEAKER_01 33:14

Join us next time, right here on the Christian Cafe, and see what God is serving up French for you.