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. 7 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. – Haggai 2:6-7 (NIV)
Whenever you’re part of something big, impactful, or potentially life-changing, it’s easy to get caught up in all the responsibilities and the tasks you see in front of you and start to feel like YOU have to accomplish them all. In fact, if we’re not careful, we’ll find ourselves having our hands on and in everything because we think WE have to be the ones to make it all happen.
While the main purpose behind the Lord’s words to His people here was to announce the good news of what He had coming, I can’t help but wonder if there’s another, maybe more subtle message that He wants us to grasp, too.
As He’s communicating what His purpose is in all of this, He’s also reminding that HE is the one who will be doing it. Three times in these two verses He says, “I.”
I, the Lord.
I, not you.
I will do it, and I’m not asking you to do it, I’m not telling you to do it, and I have no expectation of you doing it.
Could it be that He wants to set us free from the pressure to do everything? Is it possible that He’s trying to let us know that we’re only expected to do our job, trusting that He will fulfill His promises to do the rest?
When the Lord says He’s going to perform a universal shaking and a filling with His glory, it should be obvious that no mortal could dare do these things. You and I can’t shake the heavens and the earth, nor can you and I fill a temple with glory – or a thimble, for that matter. And yet, if we’re honest, we still find ourselves trying to be the ones doing the shaking. You know, if we just make our church events bigger and better every year and market them better than everyone else, surely our attendance will triple in a matter of months. If we just play the right music in our Sunday Worship Gathering’s, hire the best musicians we can find, and create the right emotional moments, then people will flock into our buildings and give their lives to Jesus.
What about personally? Are our prayer lives hindered because we’re too busy trying to do everything we think God should be doing instead of talking to Him about it and discovering His will? Do we refuse to take a day of rest because we think our non-stop activity and work will bring everything to fruition in the event God forgets or falls asleep? Are we continually worrying and overthinking just in case God has missed a key detail or possible outcome?
Yes, the Lord told the people to get to work, but He didn’t tell them to do His work. Maybe this is a message for us today. Maybe we, the Church, need to stop and consider our ways so that we can be reminded of what our job really is – loving God, loving others, and making disciples. The Lord our God will handle all the shaking and filling with His glory.