A New Tune - Pt 4

Fear not. For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts. (Haggai 2:5b-9 ESV).

The last principle of singing this new tune is found as we dream into the future. And so in faith, we turn from the former glory, and strain toward what’s ahead, resting in the promise of God’s empowering. Here the charge beautifully captures the Christian faith-work dynamic for good resolves, and the promise of the covenant points to a strength and hope all the more true for the new-covenant Christian. “Work, for I am with you” (v. 4) goes straight to the heart of what can make a resolution truly Christian. Work, because I’m at work in you. All too often we find ourselves stuck in the past. The regrets cause feelings of shame and failure; the misunderstanding of the power of God, even in our failure, brings fear and anxiety. The Apostle Paul remixes Haggai in his letter to the Church at Philippi: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). In both the apostle and the prophet, it’s the presence of God than energizes and inspires our exertion of effort to fulfill godly resolves. And so we pray with Paul for the faith-powered completion of Christian commitments. It is in Jesus, that we can turn from the past and dream into the future, and say with Haggai, as he does three times, in 2:15–19, “From this day onward . . .” For the Christian, any today can mark a new era. “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (cf. Psalm 95:7; Hebrews 3:7, 15). With the crucified and risen Lord on his throne as the king of the universe, and his Spirit alive and on the move, any today can signal a new tomorrow when pursued in faith. And for God’s pleasure and glory, the beginning of a new year is just as good a day as any to make the faith-filled resolve, From this day onward. How about it? Are you ready to embrace a new tune? Are you ready for a change? You can be!