The Purpose In The Shaking

Are you going through a storm or a shaking time? The book of Hebrews gives us some clues as the purpose of storms and shaking:

“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. “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.” 

Hebrews 12:25–29 NKJV

Haggai Goes a Step Further

When the unknown author of Hebrews is writing of the shaking in chapter 12, he (or she) is quoting Haggai 2. Haggai’s version is a tad longer, and with a significant conclusion as its finale:

“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. 

Haggai 2:6-7

Haggai reveals that the purpose of the shaking is that God’s glory fills the temple – you could say the Church – That’s YOU AND ME!

Haggai goes on:

‘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 2:8-9

Divine shaking, it would seem, has the capacity to lift us to new glories, where the weight of God’s favour, blessing and power propels us further than ever before, the latter house becoming more glorified than the former. Shakings have the power to bring us to fulfilment, to bloom, to wrestle us into new seasons and new assignments.

A writer tells a story that may illustrate this point well:

“A man had his garden professionally landscaped with gorgeous azalea bushes. What a beautiful sight they were! Each had beautiful blooms that captured the attention of all that passed by. They were stunning bushes—all except one. There was one bush that stubbornly refused to bloom. No matter what they tried, it would not bloom; it produced no flowers.”

“Then, a massive hurricane came through his area.”

“Within two weeks after the storm, the stubborn azalea bush produced the most beautiful blooms he had ever seen. It was magnificent. He went to speak to the gardener, wondering what had happened. The gardener said he was about to dig that azalea bush up and shake it violently. The owner asked why he would do such a thing. The gardener explained that is what they sometimes do when a bush refuses to flower. He explained that sometimes the violent shaking causes it to awaken and bloom. The hurricane did that for them. It shook the azalea bush so hard, so violently, that it woke up and began to bloom.”

The author went on to ask “Could it be that the shaking the church is experiencing is meant to awaken the body of Christ and cause us to bloom as originally intended?” 

May we surrender to the Refiner’s fire, as He adjusts and upgrades us to a place where we are ready for a fresh move of God. I believe the result could be an outpouring of presence, power and glory that leads to a harvest of souls and the Kingdom Come in society. That is surely a worthy purpose for the shaking and storms we are living through?

An extract for The Divine Reset & Beyond: Pre-Order Your Copy HERE.

Even when the world shakes around me, I will not be moved—because God is my foundation, and He is at work in the shaking.

“He has promised, ‘Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens’… so that what cannot be shaken may remain” (Hebrews 12:26–27).

God is stripping away what is not rooted in Him so that what is lasting, pure, and true will rise and I trust Him in the process.

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