For a long time, we were focused on verse 7, “Endure
hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children…” and we comforted
ourselves that rather than always expecting to be comfortable, God’s children
might need to expect to be trained, disciplined.
And more recently, we’ve had our attention drawn to verses 1
and 2, paying attention to the “great cloud of witnesses” that are watching us,
and “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” Living
our lives with heaven in view has been a great focus.
There’s a third part of the chapter that’s capturing my
attention. Late in the chapter, the author writes, “now He has promised,
saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” Now this,
“Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken,
as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.”
I find that my own attention is drawn to these statements
from two directions.
First, many of my brothers and sisters are having their
lives shaken pretty formidably right now.
I think of filling a container with something that is not
liquid (perhaps cereal, or spices, or nuts and bolts). When I’m filling the
container, I pour into the new contents into it, until it begins to over flow.
And then I shake the container; I might bang it on the counter once or twice.
Inevitably, after shaking, there’s more room in the container now, so that I
can pour more in. Shaking makes more room in us, to hold more of God, to care
more for others, to understand (and experience) more of his kingdom.
I also think of paint. When I buy paint, they add the
colorant to make the paint match the architect’s plans. And then they shake it,
so that the architect’s influence is permeated throughout the paint, so that
everything it touches conforms to the architect’s plans. Shaking makes us more
consistent throughout our lives.
And I think of quality control testing. When I build a
cabinet, to hold my tools and such, I often pause during construction and shake
the cabinet pretty aggressively: I’m testing to see how well it’s been built.
If it is going to come apart, I’d rather it did it early in the process – and
this is why buildings are earthquake-tested during the design phase – so that I
can correct the defects, and have an effective cabinet to hold the tools that I
use. Shaking reveals weaknesses, not to draw attention to the, but to correct
them.
The second reason my attention is drawn to these verses
about shaking is because a number of the prophets I am in relationship with are
hearing God use this passage to explain the season we’re in. We’re in a shaking
season.
Add 1 Peter 4:17 into the conversation (“For it is time for
judgment to begin with God’s household…”), another verse that prophetic people
have been hearing for a while. We could make a number of inferences about our
churches, our culture, and our nation, based on this combination, but that’s
not my primary goal here.
The main focus I’m coming away with is this: if you’re
following God, you’re either being shaken, or about to be shaken. It’s for your
good, it’s to make you more like him. Don’t freak out when it happens.
Celebrate your advancement in the Kingdom.
2 comments:
This verse and many like it have been used to point to some sort of "end" is nigh mentality...does it ever occur to anyone that there are places all over the world where difficulty on the level we might be experiencing is a normal condition for the last 100 years? My point is this...whenever we interpret the scripture based upon our own cultural uniqueness we might be looking through the wrong end of the telescope...how fair would it be to the 100's of thousands around the planet if God made the end about America or our rather prosperous economy?
always offering balance in all you write, i love that! good article, helps open our eyes to see what's up ahead...good thinking material..thanks for the eye opener to what's been happening here too!
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