From a Chair to a Pillar

You know, when the Lord kicks out our props, He does it on purpose. Believe it or not, there are times He actually causes us to fall. "Heresy," I hear you say. No, it's not. Listen. You know why He does it? It’s not so He can be cruel and watch our lives fall to pieces and then look down and say, “I told you to make me your everything.” No, it’s so He can catch us and in that, show us His power. He doesn’t want us relying on anything else but Him because He is the best and He wants the best for us.

 

Think of a chair. It has four legs. Say He is one leg, but my significant other is one, my method of income is one and my health is one. I am not completely relying on Him, am I? But He wants me to rely on Him completely. So what does He do? He starts taking things away. Maybe my boyfriend leaves me. Things at work are in shambles; nothing is going the way I planned, and I’m afraid I will lose my job. To make things worse, I need to have my gallbladder removed. Little by little, He breaks the legs, and the chair begins to fall over. I have no control; the chair is going to fall. It cannot stand on just one leg. So it topples, on a crash-course; destination: obliteration.

But just before the chair of my life hits the ground, that’s when He catches me, if I’ll let Him. He doesn’t want me crashing to the ground. He doesn’t want my life in shattered pieces. He wants to stretch out His mighty hands and lift me back up. He wants to be my full support. He wants to be my pillar. This is where He shows His power. This is where He reveals more of His character. That’s what He wants. And through what will no doubt be a painful process, He takes what used to be the chair of my life, and He makes it into a mighty pillar, a rock on which I get to stand. He shapes and molds me and my life so that there’s only one thing supporting me now, and He will not fail. No one can knock Him over. No one can take Him away.

There are times we go through pruning seasons, seasons we feel we have lost so much. But it has purpose in our lives. There is a reason and He has a strategy. I don’t know much about gardening, my mother can attest to that, but I do know, when a gardener prunes, he does it so that the plant can bear more fruit. He removes some buds. He takes away some of the fruit. And the plant in turn produces more fruit. It’s exactly what He does with us. He takes away a little, so we can bear much more. He wants more for us. Always. So if you’ve been in a pruning season, if the Lord has removed some things, some people, from your life, ask Him why. Probably He has taken them away because He has better for you and He has more for you. Trust in His goodness and allow Him to be your pillar, your strength so that in Him, you can never be knocked over.

For You, O God, have tested us;

You have refined us as silver is refined.

You brought us into the net;

You laid affliction on our backs.

You have caused men to ride over our heads;

We went through fire and through water;

But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.

Psalm 66: 10-12