Joy Best

“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 the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory”, says the Lord Almighty.  ’The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty.  ’The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’  says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace.’ declares the Lord Almighty. Haggai 2:6-9

We were on our way to Christchurch when the news broke that there had been a devastating earthquake.  We were to be at the NZ Vineyard annual pastors and leaders gathering meeting in Christchurch. We’ve never experienced this happening before, the city of destination devastated just before you arrive. Needless to say, the trip was postponed, and we had an unexpected trip to the west coast of BC! During the following weeks, as we were praying for Christchurch, and then Japan, I remembered the Lord speaking the above word to us in 1973, in the midst of the great move of His spirit with the Jesus people.  Haggai is short, only 2 chapters. I encourage you to read it.

What the Lord seemed to be saying to us at that time, (when most Christians felt that Jesus would return momentarily) was not to be busy building our fine houses, but to build His house. (Hag.1:4)  Gary even wrote a song about the above scripture, it so greatly impacted us. We’ve tried to live this way, these many years. What we’ve pursued with our life calling is about building God’s house on this earth.  Larry Crabb, in his book “66 Love Letters”, comments on what it means in our day to build God’s temple, “Whatever you do for my sake that involves the sacrifice of self-interest, whatever you do to reveal Me to others when you feel least able to do so, whatever you do that pleases Me at any cost to yourself, that is building My temple.”

Here we are in 2011, and Jesus has not yet returned, He waits to see His divine purposes fulfilled first.  His word is timeless, and if we are wise we will learn to interpret the signs of the times (Matt. 16: 2,3) for the present day.

I had a dream about 5 years ago that began just after a tsunami hit the beach I was standing on. I was driven further inland, and as I looked at the dry ground beneath my feet, I noticed that it was not bearing my weight as it normally would, and I was sinking into the ground. It seemed that what I was used to understanding was a safe place was no longer so. It occurred to me that I needed to find Jesus, because He is my rock of safety, and when I’m with Him everything is OK.  As I looked around for Jesus, there He was out on the water with His hands outstretched, welcoming me to walk out to Him. Even though I’m not a confident water-walker, there was no other option…the dry land was no longer a safe place for me, and experience has shown me that even though I may be terrified, I’d rather be with Jesus than anywhere else!

I think the dream was just an update on the same theme as the Haggai word in 1973. Never trust in the safety of the familiar, the way things have worked in the past, trust in your relationship with Jesus and stay VERY close to Him. He is all the security you’ll ever need. In the midst of tsunamis, earthquakes, unstable ground, things in this world  being shaken, take courage and do the work of building His temple. He says “I am with you!” Haggai 1:13, and He is my place of peace!