Are you being sifted?

Wed, 22 Feb 2023

‘Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.’ Luke 22:31-32

When Jesus told Peter, “Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat,” it raises the question in our minds, Lord, did you have to say yes? A good sifting brings glory to God, such as when Job continued to praise his Maker when things seemed lost and even his wife was telling him to give up on God. It probes your weaknesses. When you’re still thinking, ‘I can,’ a swift sift will push you to say, ‘I can’t, but God can.’ It allows God to scrape away the distractions that could hinder you from fulfilling His purpose in your life. Peter’s sifting would scrape away all his stomp-and-snort bluster, revealing a heart that’s teachable and willing to welcome Cornelius and his Gentile clan into the family of God. Notice, Jesus didn’t say, ‘Get ready for a whirlwind of hurt, Peter. I know you’re going to let me down!’ Instead, He pointed to the future. Peter would survive the sifting; he would return humbled but stronger and with a purpose to strengthen his brothers and sisters. The Lord said yes to the sifting in order to transform Peter from a leader who serves to a servant who leads. And that’s a significant shift from the thinking of men to the thinking of God. You may have days when you wonder if God is letting Satan sift you. You can take a God-view of it, knowing He is always in control. Remember, ‘“greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world’ (1 John 4:4 KJV).’