December 5: God Shakes Things Up
♫ Music:
Day 7 - Saturday, December 5
Title: GOD SHAKES THINGS UP
Scripture: Haggai 2:6-7
For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts.
Tornados
by Thylias Moss
Truth is, I envy them
not because they dance; I out jitterbug them
as I'm shuttled through and through legs
strong as looms, weaving time. They
do black more justice than I, frenzy
of conductor of philharmonic and electricity, hair
on end, result of the charge when horns and strings
release
the pent up Beethoven and Mozart. Ions played
instead of notes. The movement
is not wrath, not hormone swarm because
I saw my first forming above the church a surrogate
steeple. The morning of my first baptism and
salvation already tangible, funnel for the spirit
coming into me without losing a drop, my black
guardian angel come to rescue me before all the
words
get out, I looked over Jordan and what did I see
coming for
to carry me home. Regardez, it all comes back,
even the first
grade French, when the tornado stirs up the past,
bewitched spoon
lost in its own spin, like a roulette wheel that won't
be steered like the world. They drove me underground,
tornado watches and warnings, atomic bomb drills.
Adult
storms so I had to leave the room. Truth is
the tornado is a perfect nappy curl, tightly wound,
spinning wildly when I try to tamper with its nature,
shunning
the hot comb and pressing oil even though if
absolutely straight
I'd have the longest hair in the world. Bouffant
tornadic
crown taking the royal path on a trip to town, stroll
down
Tornado Alley where it intersects Memory Lane.
Smoky spirit-
clouds, shadows searching for what cast them.
GOD SHAKES THINGS UP
I was watching my son-in-law at our Friday night BBQ. Adam was expertly constructing his bacon cheeseburger sandwich and the crowning touch was his favorite—mayonnaise. Shaking the container, he then inverted it, applying the perfect amount of pressure and the mayo poured out with vigor to his satisfaction.
When things are shaken, what is inside is revealed, it comes out.
We are all shaken these days. Things are fluid and unpredictable. And we have all found unexpected “stuff” inside of us coming out. We find ourselves suddenly irritated over the loss of something that we didn’t even realize we felt entitled to have: the smiles behind the masks of strangers in the grocery store, the handshakes and hugs at church, easy access to haircuts, etc.
God tells us in Hebrews 12 that He shakes the world so that what can be shaken away will fall off, but that the unshakeable eternal things will then remain.
When we are shaken, our attachments are loosened and what is in our hearts comes out.
Our passage in Haggai talks about this principle. The Lord of Hosts promises to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land and all the nations—everything in the created order, in other words! At that point—when things are all dislodged and tumbled and fallen away—what is left will be our true desires.
And our desires define us: When we are shaken, we find out what our hearts’ true desires are. We will know what we truly want, and therefore, who we truly are. And as we are shaken further, we are emptied out so that we may be filled with eternal things. God’s desire is to give us the eternal things—to have His Kingdom fill our hearts.
The Lord of Hosts tells us here that the desire of the nations is to see His house filled with His glory. And we are His house.
Our art today demonstrates this process: Bomer’s art depicts the heaviness of descending dayglory—we reach our hands out to catch it and we stagger and are shaken under the weight of God’s presence. The poem shakes us, and the music requires us to “shake” as we follow the flight of notes, whether Gospel or Baroque, as they go all over the place—Handel was a master at making meaning with the form of his music.
We humans are made to be worshippers and it is God who we are made to truly worship.
As the writer of Ecclesiastes puts it, “You have put eternity in our hearts,” and nothing here on earth satisfies that desire. This world isn’t our home, we are just passing through, and at heart, we humans are made to worship God. Our deepest desire (once other things are shaken off) is to see the King in His glory.
The shaking sucks, and we love our various attachments. But how can we participate in what God is doing? How can we lean into the process right now, crying: “How long, oh Lord? Come Lord Jesus. You came once…come again!”?
Prayer:
We have been shaken, emptied, and we long to be filled with You. Hear the cry of our hearts:
“Come, Lord Jesus, come. Make Your Advent here.”
Dr. Betsy Barber
Associate Director of the Institute for Spiritual Formation
Associate Professor of Spiritual Formation and Psychology
Talbot School of Theology, Biola University
For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
About the Artwork:
Surely the Presence of the Lord is in This Place
Grace Carol Bomer
2017
Oil and wax
36” x 36”
Private Collection
The title of this piece is taken from a song by the same name. “Surely the Presence of the Lord Is in This Place” was written by Lanny Wolfe, an American Christian music songwriter, musician, publisher, and teacher. A Grammy and Dove Award winner, Wolfe realized that the essence of the church is not simply a building, but a community of people who come together to worship the Lord who makes the church.
About the Artist:
Grace Carol Bomer was born in Alberta, Canada, and pursued a career in teaching before she became a professional painter. Moving to North Carolina to study art at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, Carol established her Soli Deo Gloria Studio there. As an abstract expressionist characterized by sumptuous color, textures and palpable light, Bomer seeks to explore themes that center around “the human condition surprised by the grace of God”. She is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions for her art. Her work has been featured in numerous solo and juried exhibitions and is held in many public, private, and corporate collections, including Wachovia Bank, Westinghouse, Holiday Inns, Inc., and Cessna Corp.
gracecarolbomer.com/home.html
Music #1:
“Thus Said the Lord” (from Handel's Messiah) from the album Too Hot to Handel
Lyrics:
For thus saith the Lord of hosts;
Yet once, it is a little while,
and I will shake the heavens, and the earth,
and the sea, and the dry land;
And I will shake all nations,
and the desire of all nations shall come
Performers:
Vivian Cherry and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop
Vivian Cherry is an American R&B and jazz singer. She is acclaimed as one of the best background singers who worked in New York City throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s. Unlike background singer-contemporaries like Gwen Guthrie and Patti Austin, Ms. Cherry never launched a solo career, but nevertheless recorded many albums and appeared in commercials and hit movies. She also toured with singer Rorberta Flack.
Colorado Symphony Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in the United States, performing more than 150 concerts annually at Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver and across Colorado. The Colorado Symphony is home to eighty full-time musicians, representing more than a dozen nations, and regularly welcomes to their stage the most celebrated artists from the world of symphonic music. Recognized as an incubator of innovation, creativity, and excellence, the Colorado Symphony continually expands its reach through education, outreach, and programming. They continually partner with the state's leading musical artists, cultural organizations, corporations, foundations, sports teams, and individuals, to expose diverse audiences to the transformative power of music.
https://coloradosymphony.org/About/The-Symphony
Marin Alsop (b. 1956) is an American conductor and violinist. She is currently music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and chief conductor of the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. From 1993 to 2005, she was first principal conductor and then music director of the Colorado Symphony. In 2007, Alsop was appointed the 12th music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO). Selecting her was noteworthy because Alsop is the first woman to hold this position with a major American orchestra and will conclude her music directorship of the orchestra at the close of the 2020-2021 season to take the title of Music Director Laureate. Alsop frequently guest-conducts with different international orchestras. Since 2020 she is Artist in Residence at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marin_Alsop
Composer:
Handel arr. Bob Christianson
Bob Christianson is a composer, arranger, keyboard player, and conductor. He was honored to have the Baltimore Symphony premiere his new piece, A Christmas Carol – The Concert in December 2011. He also co-arranged another orchestra piece that has become a holiday staple, Too Hot to Handel. It has been performed by many orchestras around the country, including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. He was nominated for an Emmy for his music for ABC Sports and has scored many series for the Discovery family of networks. He has written over 25 award-winning sports themes for CBS, ESPN, and ABC. His orchestral works have been performed by The Baltimore Symphony, The Colorado Symphony, The Concordia Orchestra, The Florida Orchestra, and many others.
https://www.bobchristianson.com/
Music #2:
Messiah, HWV 56, Pt. 1: 5. Thus Saith the Lord
Lyrics:
For thus saith the Lord of hosts;
Yet once, it is a little while,
and I will shake the heavens, and the earth,
and the sea, and the dry land;
And I will shake all nations,
and the desire of all nations shall come
Messiah Performers/Musicians/Lyricists/Composer:
Unless otherwise noted, all Messiah performances are by Margaret Marshall, Catherine Robbin, Anthony Rolfe-Johnson, Robert Hale, Charles Brett, Saul Quirke, the English Baroque Soloists, and the Monteverdi Choir conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Biographical information for the performers and musicians can be found by clicking here.
About the Poet:
Thylias Moss (b.1954) is an American poet, writer, experimental filmmaker, sound artist, and playwright of African-American, Native American, and European heritage. Her poetry has been published in a number of collections and anthologies and she has also published essays, children's books, and plays. She is the pioneer of Limited Fork Theory, a literary theory concerned with the limitations and capacity of human understanding of art. She also invented POAM (product of act of making), an experimental multimedia art form combining film and poetry by emphasizing how text placement and movement, among other sensory elements, can enhance the meaning of a poem. These POAMS are usually displayed in galleries, but many can be found online in podcasts, journals, and on YouTube. Throughout her career, her work has become more experimental, stretching the boundaries of genre and the definition of poetry.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thylias_Moss
About the Devotion Author:
Dr. Betsy Barber
Associate Director of the Institute for Spiritual Formation
Associate Professor of Spiritual Formation and Psychology
Talbot School of Theology, Biola University
Dr. Betsy Barber has a clinical practice with specialization in the soul care and mental health of Christian workers. She teaches courses in spiritual formation, soul care, missions, maturity, and marital relationships. She has particular interest in spiritual formation and supervision of students in spiritual direction and mentoring. She has worked with her husband as a missionary in Bible translation and counseling ministries for 24 years. In addition to being a licensed clinical psychologist, she has background and training in spiritual direction.