A Shaking That Strengthens

Listening to friends talk about their farm experience; I learned that a large field of corn is moved and shaken by the wind to accomplish what needs to be done for the plants to be healthy and productive. One friend, having only planted a few corn plants, had to go out and shake the plants in order for them to pollinate and propagate.

The next day I thought about that shaking when I read Isaiah 28:27-29,

“Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,


nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin,


but dill is beaten out with a stick,


And the cumin with a rod.

Does one crush grain for bread?

No, he does not thresh it forever,

when he drives his cart wheel over it with his horses,

he does not crush it.

This also comes from the LORD of hosts;

he is wonderful in counsel

and excellent in wisdom.”

This was in a season of being shaken, so the next morning I just couldn’t miss it when John Piper said on his podcast, “Strange as it may seem, one of the primary purposes of being shaken by suffering is to make our faith more unshakeable.”

Luke 22:31-32 gives us an example when Jesus said, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

How comforting to know there is purpose in our pain; that God uses even the enemy to accomplish the necessary shaking for His Kingdom plans. Lord, thank you for loving us enough to provide shaking that strengthens our faith, produces more fruit for Your glory, and strengthens the body of Christ.