Shaking Reveals the Gold

How God Uses Seasons of Loss to Refine Our Faith

There are seasons in history — and in our personal lives — when God allows what can be shaken to be shaken.

Not to frighten us.

Not to destroy us.

But to reveal what has truly been built — whether of the flesh or of the Spirit.

For the believer, shaking is never meant to destroy.

It is meant to refine and reveal the gold.

When Everything You Thought Was Secure Falls Apart

In the spring of 1996, my husband, my two teenage children, and I were living in a small community in northwest Maryland. I was a returning college student, active in politics and ministry. From the outside, our life appeared stable and purposeful.

After completing an internship at the House of Delegates in Annapolis, I drove three hours home through the mountains, tired but eager to see my family.

I unlocked the door and instantly sensed something was wrong.

The house looked ransacked.

But it wasn’t.

The bedrooms were empty.

Closets were bare.

Personal belongings were gone.

Everyone had moved out.

In a single moment, everything familiar shifted. The roles that shaped my identity — wife, mother, leader, candidate — vanished.

I was alone.

No explanation.

No warning.

Just silence.

When Faith Feels Shaken

The first emotion that surfaced was anger.

I was angry at God.

For eighteen years I had prayed for my marriage to glorify Him. I believed He would restore it. I believed He had promised.

Somewhere in those years of praying and waiting, I allowed my roles to define me. Especially my role as an intercessor serving God and helping others.

When those roles were stripped away, the thought rose quickly:

I must be a failure.

The anger eventually gave way to depression. I did not even want to talk to God.

Yet even when I stopped reaching for Him, He never let go of me.

He did not withdraw.

He did not shame.

He did not abandon.

And somehow, I still believed He was there — because you cannot really be angry with someone who does not exist.

God Was Still God

When I was about four years old, my father would sit on the edge of my bed and teach me the Shema:

“Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

That truth had been planted early.

And it still stood in May of 1996.

God was still God.

He is still God.

What Does It Mean When God Allows Shaking?

Hebrews 12:27 says:

“The removing of what can be shaken… so that what cannot be shaken may remain.”

When relationships fall apart.

When finances collapse.

When plans unravel.

It does not mean God is absent.

Sometimes it means He is very present.

Shaking exposes what is temporary and reveals what is eternal.

Think of gold miners sifting riverbeds. As they shake the pan, dirt and sand fall away. Stones drop out.

What remains is gold.

Shaking does not create gold.

It reveals it.

Exile Does Not Cancel the Promise

Jeremiah 29:11 was written to people in exile — people who had lost stability, familiarity, and security.

God did not promise immediate restoration.

He promised that exile did not cancel their future.

For me, that did not mean my marriage would be restored.

It meant my story was not over.

It meant belonging was not revoked.

And this is not just my story — it is our story as well.

Spiritual Growth Through Trials

Scripture consistently teaches that spiritual growth comes through testing.

In 2 Peter 1:5–7, Peter describes faith being formed layer by layer until it produces love.

That is the goal — love.

We cannot give away what we do not possess.

We receive the love of God so that love becomes the fruit of our lives — toward Him and toward others.

Shaking removes what is built on fear and strengthens what is rooted in Christ.

It separates identity from role.

It separates calling from performance.

It separates truth from assumption.

Before we were ever defined by success or failure, we were His.

Isaiah 43:1 reminds us:

“I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”

Not because of ministry.

Not because of stability.

Not because of responsibility.

Simply because He created us and loves us.

If You Are in a Season of Shaking

If you are walking through loss, instability, or uncertainty right now, hear this clearly:

Shaking does not cancel your future.

It does not cancel the promises of God.

It refines what is temporary.

It strengthens what is eternal.

It reveals the gold.

Let that truth carry you into whatever season lies ahead.

The ground may feel unsteady.

But what God is forming in you cannot be shaken.

And He is still holding you.