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One of the great principles taught in scripture is that there will be a great “shaking” in the end times.
Psalm 82:5: They do not know nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
Sounds frightening.
God works all things to the good – even a shaking of the world and the church.
Why is it scary? We tend to develop routines and even sinful patterns of behavior that become familiar. We protect what we know (good or bad) because it is normal. We tend to add layer upon layer of barriers to preserve what we perceive as familiar.
The result is that emotional woundedness and anger gets buried, not healed. The Church becomes lukewarm – a form of godliness with no power.
God wants our best. He shakes things to remove the “dross”. (I love the word “dross”’.) Though the shaking can be painful, out of it comes new life, new dreams, renewed relationships, and power.
When the church is shaken, revival often follows. I’m not praying for a return to normal. I’m praying for the church to become fit for a latter-day harvest.
Consider Hebrews 12:26-29:
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. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.
We are being shaken. I heard someone say, “I can’t wait for things to return to normal.” Our situation will calm. But the changes will be permanent. There will be a new normal.
Because of 2020 our lives in 2021 will not be like they were in 2019.
What is shaken and lost will allow the unshakable to assert itself into Kingdom of God priorities.