God's Promise of Shakings

I was reading Isaiah 51 during my time with the Lord this morning. From the text, it somehow answered the discussion my other brother and I were having last night. He was telling me about certain predictions concerning my country, the Philippines. I just told him about one Word that God the LORD gave three or four years ago that is coming true since then. It was the promise of God that He will shake what can be shaken.

Haggai 2:6: “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty."

Hebrews 12: 26-27: "And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, "YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN." This expression, "Yet once more," denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain."

I recall the time He first gave the Word to me. It was about my own shaking. There were things in my life God needed to shake off of me. You would already know them to be the strongholds of idolatry, pride and man-pleasing vs. God-pleasing. I went through a very painful series of trials to shake off those things from me. God had to do it Himself, otherwise I will never be free from it, free to serve Him in this new way that I experience right now.

1. The purpose of shaking is to take us higher. Just like in an airplane where when it is taking off, some things shake as it tries to elevate, so it is with the shakings of God (I will note that one specifically – the Shakings come from the Almighty God Himself). When God does the shaking – to us or personally – His purpose is to bring people to a higher level with Him. This would not otherwise happen unless He does it Himself. 

Shakings are not permanent. Ecclesiastes 3:3. Be encouraged that it will not be forever. It will pass and rebuilding will come.

In my case, God teared down the strongholds for me, but God also lovingly and delicately rebuilt me Himself. It brought my faith to a higher level, like the picture of an eagle. (For more information on Hebrews 12:26-27, I would recommend the book written by one of our pastors at Every Nation, Pastor Joey Bonifacio. The book entitled The Promise No One Wants is also on Amazon [http://www.amazon.com/The-Promise-No-One-Wants/dp/B003TC4DM2] for anyone interested.)

"My righteousness draws near speedily,

    my salvation is on the way,
    and my arm will bring justice to the nations.
The islands will look to me
    and wait in hope for my arm.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
    look at the earth beneath;
the heavens will vanish like smoke,
    the earth will wear out like a garment
    and its inhabitants die like flies.
But my salvation will last forever,

    my righteousness will never fail."

Isaiah 51:5-6

2. The second purpose of shaking is for the salvation of souls. 

"...my salvation is on the way,...But my salvation will last forever,..." (Isaiah 51:5,6). Salvation is something that cannot be shaken. There are certain things that can be shaken but salvation is not one of them. Salvation is forever and it will remain. Whenever God does something to shake things off, the purpose is that people may come to the knowledge and salvation of Jesus Christ. 

3. The third purpose is to establish righteousness. "My righteousness draws near speedily,..." (Isaiah 51:5). God wants to lead us to His righteousness, that this will be a land grounded on true righteousness. It's hard to see this third one sometimes when you're in the zone of a storm. But come to think of it, we were more led to pray, give, help and do what is right when it happened. It was an opportunity for many to partake in God's righteousness, many.

4. The fourth purpose is justice. "my justice will become a light to the nations...my arm will bring justice to the nations." (Isaiah 51:4,5) God's justice will be established.

This one is hard for me to see the connection. What is the connection of shaking to justice? I don't get it that much but I am receiving the Word as it comes to me. Let God's justice be proclaimed.

I look to my own life during the shakings, and I only see how God's justice was really brought upon Jesus. That whatever sin He brought out from me, I learned that God really satisfied His justice on Jesus Christ when He died on the cross. God's righteous judgment was satisfied on Jesus Christ. His justice brings peace to those who accept His reign.

"...For he [Jesus] was cut off from the land of the living;

    for the transgression of my people he was punished."

Isaiah 53:8

"We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him    the iniquity of us all."

Isaiah 53:6

Jesus died to save us ultimately from our sins and the punishment that would have been ours for all eternity in hell if we did not receive Him. The ultimate punishment is not in this life but in the next if we don't receive Christ as our Lord and Savior. It is not in this life but the next. God's justice is right and sin must be atoned for. Jesus took your punishment. We like to call it GRACE because we did not get what we deserved. But grace is not a license to sin. We are thankful for grace because Someone took what we deserve so we can have the life that we don't deserve.

That's what He did. If you feel like there is injustice, God will do what is right. If you feel like the justice system is too loose on people who do wrong, God will do what is right in His time. His justice is sure and it is perfect. His throne is established on righteousness and justice is His scepter. "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom." (Hebrews 1:8).

If anyone feels cut to the heart as I was when I heard of my sins before, God is leading many to repentance. "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)

"Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death."

It is godly sorrow that will bring us to genuine repentance, that we can be free of the things that held us back.

Make no doubt about it. God loves you with an everlasting love. His rebuke and discipline is just a phase. There is a time to tear down (sin) and a time to rebuild (life). It is just a phase. God will honor us if we do what is right. He will lift up our heads once more when we are bowed down. And He will establish us in glory unimaginable. How else would I be able to stand after all I did before? :-D The Lord's mercy on me gives me the grace to stand again after I have made a mistake and fallen down. It's just a phase. There is the promise of future glory.

I don't deserve the things that I'm doing now. But just like you I went through my own time of godly sorrow - a continuous one - that leads me to repent. It is just a phase. If you heed, He will take you higher. One step, and then higher. Another, and then higher. It is always higher. But some things have to be buried first. 

"Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds."

John 12:24

If we let God shake off the things that will lead to death, we will produce much fruit for Him. That's His promise. 

5. Lastly, the purpose of shaking is to build our full hope on God

"...The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm..." (Isaiah 51:5) Remember when I implied I was trusting either myself (pride) or other people (man-pleasing) to solve my problems for me? Guess what, God shook that all, my trust in myself and my hope on people. This is so I wouldn't have anyone else to go to first but God Himself. I was established in the Lord. My foundation is now on Christ, finally, and not on anything that can be shaken. 

Our hope is in the mercy and love of Jesus Christ. People are just part of the process. But God will do the ultimate rebuilding. 

In all these things, this is God's promise for each of us. This is our hope. That HE WILL BE FAITHFUL TO ACCOMPLISH HIS WORK IN US. HE WILL REBUILD WHAT HAS BEEN TORN. HE WILL NOT ABANDON HIS PEOPLE, NO MATTER THEIR FAILINGS. HE WILL STILL DO WHAT HE PLANNED TO DO FOR US. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING, JUST LIKE HE DID WITH ME. IT WAS JUST THE BEGINNING OF A WONDERFUL JOURNEY. HIS PLAN HAS ALREADY BEEN WRITTEN IN HIS BOOK before any of them came to be. He is not yet done.  He is not yet done with me (Hallelujuah!) and He is not yet done with you. There is still more to come. GOD WILL DO WHAT IS RIGHT. HIS WORD IS TO TRUST HIM AS OF THIS TIME. And to heed (in other words, OBEY) when He calls for our own good, the good of our children, our country, and our people. We will be known to be a nation that loves to heed the voice of the Lord. We will be a nation that will serve the Lord all the days of our lives. And we will be God's people, God's children, eager to do what is right and what is good. I am claiming it already in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. AMEN.