Shakin' It Up

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat..."(Luke 22:31)

Satan's plans for Simon Peter were to destroy him, to break him down, to wear him out. He demanded, some say requested, to have the opportunity to sift Peter like wheat. To most of us that sounds terrible, even more so when we check out what Jesus said in Luke 22:31. He didn't say, "He asked but I stood up and said no way, no way your laying a hand on my boy Peter". No, Jesus said, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." WHAT???? I've prayed for you? Are you kidding?? When you have turned again?? What are you saying? You're going to let him go through this? What happened to, “You are my strong tower refuge when I'm weak and all that??

It does sound horrible, but Jesus knew what He was doing. He knew what Peter was about to suffer through , He knew that on the other side (although Simon couldn’t see it for the cloud of fear), that glorious things were looming on the horizon. I’m sure as Simon Peter lay crying in a pool of tears outside of the house of the high priest, after hearing the third crow of the rooster and realizing that he had betrayed Jesus, just as he was told he would. I’m sure he could not see himself standing before thousands of people proclaiming that the Jesus that he betrayed was the messiah and in that, see three thousand come to accept Jesus as savior. But Jesus did. Jesus saw it all.

What Satan wanted to do was to take Peter and shake the good out of him, just like when they would sift wheat. But evidently he didn’t think about what part is kept after the sifting. When wheat is sifted, the bad is thrown away and the good is used. God allowed Peter to be sifted, so as to make him into a man of God. To sift away the unusable and keep the usable. Often times God allows things into our lives as Christians to sift us. To shake us up, to separate the good from the bad. But we have to be willing to be sifted, to follow Him no matter how painful at times it may be. To say though everyone abandons me, I will still have faith in my God. If we get to that point, then nothing but glorious things will be looming in our unseen horizons.

Vern