Haggai, Adoption, and the Glory of the Lord

The Prophet Haggai

"Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. 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 2:4-9 ESV)

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What do an obscure Hebrew prophet and adoption have in common? Not much. That is what I would have said just a few short weeks ago. However, this past Sunday one of our elders, Ken Fraser, preached on Haggai 2:1-9. As I read through the struggle of the post-exilic Jews picking up the pieces of what once was King Solomon’s Temple, I saw more and more of our struggle with infertility and adoption. The people of Jerusalem returned to an desolate Judah and after nearly twenty nears they finally began the arduous task of rebuilding the temple. Solomon's temple which once stood as a mighty edifice for the worship of the one true God now lay in ruins. As the foundation was being re-laid the elders of the community wept because they realized the new temple was but a shadow of its former glory (Ez 3:12). They wept because they felt the bitterness of  disappointment, the consequence of waywardness, and the futility of their efforts. It is here that the struggle of these ancient people resonates with our struggle with infertility and adoption. I have so desperately wanted to expand our family but month after month and year after year we were unsuccessful. I felt the heavy weight of discouragement when I realized the daunting cost of adoption. Just as the people of Judah wept knowing that their effort at building the temple fell desperately short, I have felt my own futility at raising the money to bring this baby home. As I sat looking over agency charges, lawyer fees, and travel costs I felt the burden grow heavier and heavier. I remember sitting in my car watching the fees from the agencies pile up thinking, "This can't be done." It was even worse when Grace (our birth mother's friend) called me to let me know that Charity is going to the hospital because she "doesn't feel right". My heart was heavy knowing that if she had the baby now we had no money to pay the agency and the baby would go to another family. It was here that the words that Haggai spoke to the downtrodden Hebrews spoke to my heart, "Yet now be strong....work...Fear  not" (vs.4). The faithful response to struggle and discouragement is not sorrow and self pity. Feeling sorry for myself and my plight is not congruent with a person who knows God.  It is my duty to be strong and to work. However, the ability to work in light of daunting tasks is not a credit to my own strength but because of the Lord who blesses my work. Haggai continues, "Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt" (vs. 4-5). The reason that the people could continue to build the walls of the temple was not their own strength, leadership, or ability but because of the nature of their God. We can work because God is strong. We can continue because God is able to provide. We can lay our head down in rest because God is rich in bounty. He has promised that he would provide for His people. Likewise, I can seek the end adoption knowing that God will provide the means. I can ready our home for a baby knowing that God is able to provide funding. The question remains is how. How can I say that God will bless our endeavor of adoption? My conviction is this. If God chooses to glorify Himself through adoption there is no force on earth that is able to bind His purpose. Just as God declared to Haggai, "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." God is able to shake the heavens and earth so that they move for His purpose. The obstacles that seems impossible to traverse are easily shaken for the Glory of God. The fortresses of doubt that forbids us to pass are reduced to rubble at the will of the Lord. As Christians, we believe that the glory of the Lord that would fill the Temple was not only seen in the completion of the temple in Haggai's day but in the person of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 1:3 declares, "He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power." The building of the temple was a foreshadowing of the glory that would be seen in the "temple" of Jesus Christ (John 2:20). We are not seeking adoption and parenthood only as a way to fulfill a need within ourselves but because we know that by pursuing God's glory in adoption we will find satisfaction. When we seek to glorify Christ in adoption we can rest in the promise of peace, no matter the outcome. "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.’” I can rest in the promise of peace knowing that if I seek the glory of God in adoption, my vocation, and my family I will taste satisfaction. Any pursuit that is done in my own strength will ultimately leave me wanting and weeping but work done in the strength of the Lord for His glory will satisfy.  I believe that my heart is pure and my motives are to glorify God through adoption. Ultimately, my prayer is that the glory of the Lord will fill our home and Jesus Christ be glorified above all things. Please pray that in the coming weeks the tears that we once cried will be turned to shouts of joy and our weeping turned into dancing (Psalm 30:11). May the glory of God shake the heavens and fill our home with the glory of God to the praise of Jesus Christ alone.

Postscript:
Haggai 2:1-9 has been the prayer of my heart this past week as we have been in the process of filling out adoption loan applications, planning fund raisers, and blogging our journey. I have been over whelmed by the fact that so many people have responded with prayer, love, and encouragement. The heavens have begun to shake for the glory of God! We have found a family in our birth mother's city to host us our time in Ohio and have been overwhelmed by all the people who have stepped up to organize fund raisers on our behalf. On Thursday I received a phone call from a friend who read the blog and has blessed us with a fund raising challenge for the adoption. My friend will match all donations up to $8,000 towards the adoption! What a challenge! We received cards and letters from people who though we have never met but have given generously because of their heart for adoption and love for the gospel. Over the past 7 days, beginning with Anna giving her $150 puppy fund, we have raised $9,325. No words can express how in awe I am of God's provision. I pray that we are faithful with that provision and continue to work, knowing that it is God who strengthens our hands and lights our path.  We still have a way to go but I sense the peace that God will provide and pray that God is being glorified in our pursuit.




soli Deo gloria.