The more mature we become physically, and most importantly, spiritually, the more we’ll realize how little we know and how little we are really able to do as human-beings. We will encounter situations and circumstances that exceed our capacity to understand or resolve them. I’m not talking about the run-of-the-mill issues that throw a monkey wrench in the flow of our every day grind. We can get pass those relatively easy. We’ve got a little seasoning at this stage, and we know how to apply faith to these things. It’s the mountains that I’m talking about. The ones that Jesus references in his parables—the ones that, if we have faith and doubt not, we can speak to, and they’ll be removed and cast into the sea. Those mountains are the whammies in life that stretch us to the limit in faith. They bring us to a place where we must place every ounce of our authentic believing power in the Lord Jesus Christ. And there’s no mistaking it, the shake-up that occurs on the way to this place is no joke!
Do you remember the first time you got your heart broken? Very little compares to the pain of it, and its something most of us will remember our entire lives. Even those in the sunset of their years hearken back to their first loves. And it is because our hearts were so tender back then and weren’t yet imprinted with the sting of rejection. The cord that connects our hearts to who and what we believed ourselves to be was still weak in our youth, because we hadn’t allowed the love of Jesus to strengthen it. We looked to the love from Johnny, Lester, or whoever we first loved to do this for us. We didn’t realize that it was impossible for them to love us that strong.
So, we got our hearts broken, and it was like being on a bad roller coaster ride that never stopped looping. The feeling is miserable and very unsettling. You just want the pain to go away. The irony is that the heartache, which is a part of life, shows us where our cord is weak. It is important for us to know this so that we can contrast our weakness against the strength of God. When His strength comes, it fortifies us—makes us stronger and able to withstand and endure.
1Corinthians 4:20(NLT) says, “For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.” When we’re doubled over in emotional distress and hurt, we’re not a monument to God’s power in those moments. He knows that life can do this to us at times, and He wants us to remove our plugs from other sources and plug everything we’ve got into Him, because He’s our sufficiency and Source of all good things. He tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6 to trust in Him with all our hearts, and don’t depend on our own understanding. We’re to seek His Will in all that we do, and He will direct our paths.
This queasy, unsteady feeling we get from a broken heart is a lot like the anxiety we get when the mountain seems to be edging closer and closer, and we fear it might squash all that we’ve tried to build in life. That’s warfare! Amen! That’s a reminder that we’re in foreign territory, taking what God has promised by force, and the devil is mad.
Jesus revealed another amazing truth in Matthew 11:12. He said of John the Baptist that since he began preaching, the Kingdom of Heaven had been forcefully advancing. Life is not a game of Pitty Pat. We’re in the good FIGHT of faith, and 2Corinthians 10:4 tells us that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but MIGHTY through GOD, to the pulling down of strong holds of human reasoning. Our foundations must be strong in the Lord, and that’s why He allows the shake-up. The devil meant it for our demise, but God allows it for the building up of our foundation.
To get to a place where we’re prepared for the next level in our relationship with God and the next part of our assignment, we’ve got to be fortified in certain areas. Our faith must be strong. The mountain tribulation will draw fear out from the deep recesses of our souls and cause us to see it for what it is. Then, it must be replaced with faith. Sometimes we have to get right to the edge of that mountain, so it hears our voice loud and clear when we’re ready for the take-down and tell it to move out of our way. The shake-up before this confrontation is a part of every believer’s growth in Christ, but the Lord will not fail us. The mountain will move by the authority of our conviction. It will leave us enriched and fortified in greater faith as our powerful Heavenly Father receives all the glory! ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“He’s Allowing the Shake Up before the Take Down” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2019. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.