Sifted as Wheat

Luke 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

It seems that many of God's people have been going through times of sifting.  My husband and I have not been excluded.  A recent sermon preached on these verses gave me much needed comfort and encouragement.  

When wheat is sifted it is put into large sieves and is shaken and beat around violently to cause the wheat grains to fall through the holes in the sieve and the stones and dirt clods from harvesting are left behind.  

Jesus says that Satan desires to sift us as wheat.  Satan's goal is to beat us around through trials and tough times to get us to loose our faith.  Jesus tells Peter that He has prayed for him that his faith will not fail.  God could prevent Satan from touching us, but He doesn't.  He allows Satan to sift us and run us through trials.  Why?  Because in the sifting process the trash and rubbish of our lives is left in the sieve where God can help us to work through cleaning it out of our lives.  It is part of the process of sanctifying us and making us more a reflection of Him.  What Satan means for harm, God uses for good.

As we go through these times of sifting, we can be comforted that Jesus is interceding on our behalf to the Father.  He prays that our faith will not fail, so that when we come out on the other side of the sieve, we will be able to strengthen and encourage our Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

Friend, if you are in the middle of trials, be encouraged that Jesus is praying for you!  He loves you and is using Satan's attack against you for good.

Dear Father, What a comfort it is to know that Jesus prays for me!  I pray for those of us who are experiencing sifting in our lives at this time.  Help us to persevere so that this will be used for good in our lives.  Amen