Why God Shakes Your Spiritual Tightrope

Written by Chuck Swindoll | Some years have required me to have the skill of a tightrope walker to stay balanced. If you’re like me, sometimes it seems we barely keep steady on our spiritual tightrope . . . and then something—or someone—shakes the rope!

Believe it or not, that someone shaking our rope is God. But why does He do that?

There may be dozens of reasons why God will allow us to struggle this year, but I find at least three worth remembering. Each comes from the apostle Paul’s pen. Paul began his second letter to the Corinthian believers by confessing who our divine rope-shaker is: “God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3). This statement is no casual sympathy card with rhyming words and a glitzy greeting. Our mighty God comforts us as we struggle!

Regardless of the need, “He comforts us in all our troubles” (1:4). That draws the circle completely around your situation and mine. Our every affliction is God’s concern. He genuinely cares—and that care runs deep.

But why are we afflicted? Why would He shake the rope and then comfort us at the same time? Paul offers these three reasons.

Reason 1: That We Might Be Prepared to Comfort Others