In Touch Daily Devotion

Nothing can give us long-term security — only Jesus Christ is our lasting refuge.

HAGGAI 2:6-9

God has ways of shaking the world when He is up to something big. For example, He literally caused the ground to quake when Jesus died on the cross and also after Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit emboldened believers to spread the gospel (Matt. 27:51; Acts 4:31). There was nothing coincidental about the seismic activity that accompanied those two events. They were none-too-subtle messages from the Lord: Pay attention because important things are happening!

Today, the ground may not be physically moving, but the Lord is certainly doing some shaking. Political alliances, financial systems, and ethical standards are all being allowed to wobble. We are seeing the flimsiness and decay of structures upon which we’ve based our national pride and hope. Even personal lives are not immune to shock waves. Families are in crisis, and many marriages are buckling. Sadly, people have too often built lives on the weak cornerstones of their human wisdom, goodness, and ingenuity. But there is only one secure foundation: Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3:11).

God always has a purpose for permitting upheaval in His ordered creation. Among other things, He is shaking the church out of its apathy and self-focus, reminding believers not to trust in the temporary structures of this world. Rather, we are to rest upon the safe and firm foundation provided by God’s steadfast love, salvation, and kingdom here in the world.

As the Lord’s ambassadors on earth—and the only ones standing on firm ground—we have a responsibility to offer real hope to those whose foundation has become unstable. No job, government, or even religion can give a person long-term security. A relationship with the sovereign Lord Jesus Christ is the only lasting refuge.