The Great Shake-Up

There are a lot of amazing promises found in the Word of God but the one that I have been appreciative of the most since I turned 30 is found in Philippians. It says this, “….that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (1:6 NIV) I read that and I feel a great sense of relief. “You mean I don’t have to stay THIS way? I won’t stay THIS way? WHEW.” Philippians is a letter from the Apostle Paul to the church in Philippi and it is a letter that is full of encouragement, exhortation, and affirmation. There is no doubt that Paul loves this church and has nothing but their best in mind, he is after all God’s representative. He leads up to verse 6 of chapter 1 by saying how he’s been praying for them and how he is confident of the direction they are headed in. Really its best if you just read for yourself what prefaces verse 6 and then verse 6 in light of the preface. “Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God's Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.” (1:3-6 The Message) Who wouldn’t be encouraged by these words of love? Look at what Paul is saying. “There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind….flourishing finish….” Somehow Paul is given the ability to see beyond the here and now, the surface appearances, the immediate circumstances and have full confidence in the ending. God gives him the opportunity, in this case, to see the end results of the process. So he seeks to encourage the church, and us, with the promise that God does, can, and will finish what he starts in us and it will be a flourishing finish! C’mon. That is a pretty amazing promise!



When I turned 30 I got a little turned inside out and upside down. As if that weren’t enough, God started shaking all the icky stuff to get it to the surface so we could deal with it once and for all. But it hasn’t happened all at once, it has been a process. His shaking hasn’t been violent but firm and only at times when he knew I could take it. Here I am 6 years into my 30’s and still upside down, more turned inside out than ever, and still being shook up! In fact, the past year of my life has been all about the shake up. Ever been shook when you are upside down and turned inside out? Fun isn’t really an adjective I would use to describe it! But necessary? Well yes, that is an adjective that would be appropriate. I read a thought about the shaking of God recently. In one of his devo thoughts Roy Lessin says this, “The Bible tells us that one day everything upon the earth will be shaken. This shaking will be more powerful than any known earthquake that has ever been recorded or can even be imagined. When this shaking takes place, the only things that will remain are eternal things.” What I find so interesting about the shaking of God in my life is that even though I am being shaken I am still secure in him. I still feel safe. It doesn’t make me feel unstable like an earthquake would. The shaking God does with me throws me off-balance in my flesh while putting me on a right balance with the Spirit. What a profound thought. I really can’t comprehend it.


Psalm 55:22 says that when we cast all of our cares on God he sustains us and he doesn’t allow the righteous to be shaken. At first read that seems contradictory to what I’ve been experiencing. Does it mean I’m not righteous? I certainly hope not! Here’s my take on it. Ever shake a child to get them to wake up? It’s a gentle shake and yet forceful enough to get the intended message across. Ever been in an earthquake? Not a gentle shake! God is my Papa and his shaking up of my life is pretty much exactly like that of shaking me to wake up. And in a lot of ways I do need to wake up and he knows it. The shaking he is doing in my life is sifting out all the unrighteous things, all the ick, all the lies, and all that will be left when my Philippians 1:6 process is complete is eternal things.


I’ve been enjoying some fruit of this process lately. Maybe part of it is that as you get older you get more comfortable with the good parts of yourself and so you grow in confidence in those areas. And maybe part of it is real proof that God’s shake up in my life is for my good, not to mention the good of others! Recently I had to go through the job hunt and interview process. Normally this would be a very nerve wracking thing for me. But this time? I didn’t know who was speaking but it certainly could not have been me! Or could it have been? Well the answer, of course, is yes it could have been me and was me…the true me. I spoke with confidence, I carried myself with ease and confidence, and I didn’t apologize for what I didn’t know and made sure they knew I could learn. I walked away from my interviews and cried. Not tears of despair but tears of wonderment! Because of the great shake up I’ve been put through I am emerging. The true Beth is emerging. It is odd and fascinating and uncomfortable and amazing all at once. It is causing some confusion and some relief. It is changing how I approach relationships. It is easing me into more grace and therefore I am becoming a better version of who I have always been at the core. See my core isn’t changing. Oh no. Who I am at the core is the real me but so much was threatening to corrode it so God had to perform the great shake up. Oh it’s so good. It’s so good to know and rest in the fact that what my Creator has started with me he will complete. “You mean I am becoming THIS way? I get to be THIS way? YAY!”