Snow globes were meant to be shaken. Those dream landscapes suspended in liquid and encapsulated under glass were never meant to sit on a shelf like other knick knacks collecting dust. The purpose of the globe was to be unsettled—turned upside down. It is only in the agitation that the beauty of the snow, glitter, or sparkles is released. The quaking and shaking unveil the dream of its designer as the magic is released, picking up glints of shimmering light. Here the scene comes to life. But most snow globes are only stirred up a few times, and then they find themselves sitting on a ledge in a curio cabinet, under the socks at the back of a drawer, or swallowed up with the broken and shattered toys that eventually migrate to the bottom of the toy box. Here it languishes and finally disappears.

Unsettled is the address of a happy snow globe, but for most of us it is a dark back alley in the wrong part of town. It’s an address to visit only at gunpoint. We avoid the feeling of unsettled at all costs. That uncertainty upsets the stomach and creates what seems like panic. That agitated state dislodges the paralysis of thinking that we are in control.

God created us to be like snow globes. We were designed with His beauty in every aspect of our makeup, but for that to be released He must unsettle us. We tend to retire to the curio cabinet where the landscape that is our belief system is static—in place—everything under control. We tend to become what we believe. So, on occasion, He challenges what we have become by shaking up the things we believe.

Once a snow globe is shaken, the scene on the inside is changed forever. It will never be exactly the same because that which is shaken settles into a different pattern every time, revealing a different view for the discerning eye. That’s the beauty of its design and that’s the ultimate goal of its designer.

God is shaking me. I am unsettled in many areas of my spiritual life. It’s uncomfortable, unnerving, and down-right scary at times. The only solace I have is that in this unsettled state, I am somehow accomplishing the purpose for which I was designed. When the shaking stops and the snowflakes eventually come to rest, I will not be the same person I was. That’s a good thing because it reminds me that I am not in control—He is. And I can take confidence in this as well: if God is shaking my theological foundations and belief system, when it is over and the flakes of snow settle once again, they will be closer to His.

Perhaps yours are fixed—etched in stone and based on your unshakeable truth. If so, enjoy the shelf, the sock drawer, the curio cabinet, or the clutter of the toy box where you find yourself. You may have arrived…but at the wrong address.

Sorry I missed you, I’ve moved to a new address—unsettled.