As we enter more into the times that Hebrews 12 describes, when everything that can be shaken will be shaken, Christians who are not established on the solid foundation are going to be shaken right along with the rest of the world. The Lord shook Egypt to its foundation in order to set His people free. In the Scriptures, Egypt is often used as a metaphor for the world, and the reason why the world is starting to be shaken to its foundation is for the same reason—to set God’s people free.

Just as God’s people were enslaved in Egypt and it took a mighty display of God’s power to set them free, we are in the first stages of the same scenario. Many “gave their lives to Christ,” but then went on to live for themselves, building their lives more upon the kingdoms of this world than the kingdom of God. Because He loves us, the present shaking is grace and mercy from God to help set us free.

    However, the wise who are on the right path will see everything in the perspective of increasing light. I once lost a business, a fortune, and just about everything I owned, and I cannot tell you how much better I felt! I was free for the first time in years. It was painful when I was going through it. In fact, it was some of the worst times I have ever had, but when it was over I was very thankful for what this shaking had done for me and how free I felt. The year before, I had owned many planes and was flying around in my own jet. When we lost the business, my family and all of my possessions could be put in a little compact car, but I felt much better than I ever had flying around in one of my jets. We had left our dream house for a cottage that was just barely bigger than our bedroom had been, and we were happier. It was so worth it just to be back on the path that became continually brighter instead of more confusing.

    I am not saying that you have to go through all that I did. I may have been far more stubborn or rebellious, making it harder for the Lord to get through to me. However, if our stuff is more important to us than the Lord, then the greatest thing that can happen to us is to lose the stuff. If our concern for our position of honor in the eyes of the world has eclipsed our concern for what the Lord thinks of our life, then the greatest thing in the world that could happen to us is to lose the respect of men so that we can gain our respect before God.

    This is going to be a most exciting year, which is another way of saying a very shaky one. Those who are not growing in faith in God will begin to fall away. Those who are growing in faith in God will begin to lead many others to the same. We must get ready for this and understand how it will play out.

    Those who are walking in faith, walking in the path of the righteous, will be proactive, experiencing many accomplishments and victories because they will be able to see where they are going with increasing clarity, enabling them to be proactive and decisive. This is declared in the verses we reviewed last week, Proverbs 4:18-19, “But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.” The next three verses from the text in Proverbs give us a key to the victorious life solidly built on the kingdom that cannot be shaken:

For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their whole body (Proverbs 4:20-22).

   
    Devote yourself this year to knowing and obeying the Word of God. Determine that you will read at least one chapter of the Bible every day. Remember, it is those who hear the Words of the Lord and obey them that build their houses on the rock that will stand against the storms. Many complain that the Lord has not spoken to them when their Bibles are sitting on their shelves covered with dust. It is those who seek Him who find Him.

    Obviously, those who would read a Word for the Week like this are seeking God’s Word. However, if we are walking in ever increasing light, we should be pursuing Him and the understanding of His ways more and more. We must gather fresh manna daily, not just weekly. Resolve that to whatever degree you now spend time seeking to know and obey God’s Word that you are going to increase that this year. Start now. It will pay greater dividends than any other investment you could make.