I opened to Mark 4 and started reading. The parable of the sower, the candle under a bushel, growing seed, the mustard seed kingdom, and Jesus rebuking the storm. It’s that last one that jumped out at me. In particular verse 40, “But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” Reading that verse was like stepping into the path of an oncoming train doing 200 mph. It describes exactly how I have been for the past 8 months since my wife passed away and I lost everything, including our home. If I’m completely honest, it describes the last 20 or so years off my nearly 28-year Christian walk.
Sifted like Wheat
So I sat in my bed meditating on this verse and looking back on the past 8 months and honestly the entirety of my life to try and understand why I don’t trust God as I know I should; as I know He deserves. He truly has been so good to me and has ALWAYS taken care of me no matter the circumstance. There have even been several times (6 throughout my life) when I should have died but He spared my life. It’s clear to me that He wants me here and has a reason for me to keep going.
Then, as I was journaling all of this and my thoughts, another thought was dropped into me by Holy Spirit. “Sift you as wheat”. I remembered that verse as the verse Holy Spirit gave me a couple of months before Veronica passed. It’s in Luke 22:31-32, “And the Lord said, “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.”
Strengthen Your Brethren
I started meditating on this verse and particularly what it meant to be sifted like wheat. Come to find out that that phrase is a metaphor meaning to shake someone apart, or break them down. In biblical times, wheat and other grains were sifted through a sieve or large strainer after it was threshed. As it was shaken violently, the dirt and other impurities that clung to the grain during the threshing process would separate from the good, usable grain.
Amos 9:9 shows a similar picture of God “sifting” Israel. “For surely I will command, and will sift the house of Israel among all nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve; yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground.” That last part is the most important. ‘… not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground.’ I believe Jesus was indirectly quoting this when He said in Luke 22:32, “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”
Great Purpose
I realized the only reason Satan would want me to be sifted like wheat and to break me down and shake me apart is that He knows God has a great purpose for me and that I am a threat to his little kingdom on earth. By sifting the disciples, me, or anyone else as wheat, Satan’s goal is to crush our spirits and destroy our faith. As I mentioned earlier, Holy Spirit gave me this verse a couple of months before my wife’s passing. He was telling me what was going to happen, just as Jesus told His disciples what was to happen to them.
If you notice, Jesus never promised to stop the sifting. He told Peter that he would fail the test by denying that he knew Jesus three times. Tests and trials are a constant on the Christian walk. Acts 14:22 tells us, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”Romans 8:28 tells us that “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” God uses all these experiences and trials for our good; to refine our characters and remove anything that is not in His character, and to strengthen our faith in Him and His unending love and goodness toward us. Ultimately, it is to make us more like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ so that we may show His love and goodness to all mankind.
Not to Destroy but to Strengthen
I’m finally beginning to learn after all these years that these trials and tests we endure, while meant to destroy us by Satan, are limited in their effectiveness by Jesus’s intercession for us. When we endure these times we need to remember that Jesus is with us in them praying for us and strengthening us so that we may come out the other side more like Him. We see in the Book of Job that when Satan came before God and was allowed to sift Job, God limited his power over Job. He was never allowed to take Job’s life. God did not want Job dying before he learned the lessons of the trials. Plus, He had great plans to further prosper and use Job after he came through the testing of his faith.
Another reason for the trials and tests we endure as Christians are to teach and strengthen others who are enduring similar circumstances once we have come through and learned the lessons of the trial. Jesus told Peter in Luke 22 that when he had come through and returned to Jesus to strengthen his brothers. Our trials are never just for us alone. We are to take what we have learned and pass it on to others. This is so that they may be strengthened and renewed just as Peter was. Through our experiences, we gain a better understanding of how weak our flesh is as human beings. Through this, we gain more compassion and understanding of others going through their trials.
Maturity not Perfection
We will never be perfectly sinless on this side of heaven. Our flesh and this world are corrupt because of sin. True faith is knowing that when we fail and fall during our trials, repentance is the path back to Jesus. When we do, restoration awaits us. It is Jesus who began the good work in us, and it is He who is faithful to complete it. Then we are equipped to go forth and help others to the path of repentance and restoration. We are God’s Broken Vessels. His Agents of Restoration.
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