Sifted

“Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”  (Luke 22:31-32)

Life has a lot of hard happening right now. I can say for sure that it feels like I’m in a sifter.  As if anything and everything that can be shaken is being shaken in my world- literally on a global scale and all the personal levels in my life. It’s an onslaught! And I’m over here like, ‘Hey God- is that serpent after me too? Have I been asked for?’

Easter is coming up and I love to meditate on those scriptures. It’s helping me. What a hot mess ‘Holy Week’ was, am I right? In the seen events, there was what I can only describe as manic pandemonium:

People yelling “Hosannas'' at Jesus on Sunday are yelling “Crucify Him” on Friday. 

Soldiers with torches and swords break up an intimate prayer meeting. An ear is cut off and divinely glued back on. 

Jesus speaks, “I am He” and the soldiers fall to the ground at the power of that truth. Hours later, this same Jesus is a play-toy in brutal Roman games of torture.

Friends betray friends. Everyone scatters. 

Darkness comes in the middle of the day. Dead people come out of their graves. Stones that can’t be moved are moved. Bodies go missing.

If ever people were feeling shaken at the events around them, this was the time. But from another perspective, what was happening in the unseen?

Power is made a prisoner… and the weak will be made strong and captives set free. 

Righteousness is damned…and the condemned are justified. 

The triune God disconnects. The One God is severed as the Father turns His back on His Son…and nothing will ever be able to separate mankind from the love of God.

Life Himself dies…and death is defeated, giving mankind the gift of eternal life. 

When the seen things were imploding on the earth, God’s plan of redemption was exploding in the heavenly realm. It looked like all was lost and yet in truth, the lost were about to be found. Everything was going exactly to plan.

I’m not sure why now is the time for the pushback and shaking happening in my life, and as I look around it’s happening to a lot of people. In fact, the whole world seems to be rocking. Is there something happening in the unseen, though? Is something about to burst forth? A new thing?

The word “sift” Jesus uses when talking to Peter means, “to sift, to shake; by inward agitation to try one’s faith to the verge of overthrow.” (Thayer’s). Did you know that right before Jesus says this to Peter, all the disciples are arguing about who was going to be the greatest… again? Jesus is about to fulfill His destiny, serving us all by going to the cross. He will become the G.O.A.T. with the highest and greatest name over every other name. And their greatness is their last supper conversation? They don’t know of what they speak. 

We don’t know what is in our heart until it is tested. 

Jesus was intentional to bring His disciples together for a last supper, knowing Judas would be there, knowing that Peter will deny Him, knowing that they all will run away. Beautiful Jesus, He is a rock of steady strength and hope, preparing them for what they do not yet understand. 

We read this story and make Peter seem a buffoon at his foolish reply and behavior to follow, but that is all wrong. Jesus is about to allow something to happen to Peter that will shake him and change him. Satan has asked for him and Jesus says yes. Yes, you can shake Peter. Yes, you can show him where he is weak. I will pray for him. I believe in him. He will, through this sieve, be rid of wrong mindsets of greatness and his people-pleasing weaknesses. Jesus loves Peter enough to trust him with a test that will humble him and make him usable: “when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” 

In the unseen places of the Easter story, what was being done is unparalleled in greatness! I can find no words that are adequate to describe the wonderfulness of it! But no one could see that then and no one really understood it when Jesus warned them it was coming. While we now have the benefit of knowing the ending, they did not. I can relate to that. I don’t see the end of the matter in any of my current hard places. Things seem lost. Things seem dead. Yet I feel slightly manic with hope and joy amidst the pain. I think that I’m being sifted and my faith is being tested. I sense that in the dark places of the valley, something wonderful is happening. God is trusting me with these tests because He has something coming that is so good, beyond description. 

I believe that on the other side of my current events there’s a table prepared for me and an overflowing cup to share! I just need to keep believing it, to trust Jesus, and follow Him there. If that is the case then I’m willing to step out in faith like Peter right now. Wind, waves, devil-may-care, I say, “Lord, I’m ready to go with you.” (Luke 22:33).

“Peter, do you love Me?... Lord, You know all things. You know that I love You. … You follow Me.” (John 21:17-19).