Luke 22:32 – “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.”
These verses are the words of Jesus to Peter on the eve of His crucifixion. Peter was always around Jesus, and he believed he would be with Him right till the end. Jesus warned Peter that Satan was going to sift him like wheat. But Jesus also prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail. We know how Peter’s faith failed him the next day when he denied knowing Jesus, but we also know that Peter bounced back and became one of the pioneers of the early church.
Sometimes, it feels like our lives are being sifted like wheat. We are shaken out of our comfort zones, we’re faced with a lot of stress and our health takes a beating. We wonder why we’re facing so much suffering, and wait eagerly for it to end. What we need to remember during our suffering is this: when wheat is sifted, all the chaff is blown away and only the good grains remain.
When our lives are sifted, when we’re facing terrible situations, God will use the process to remove the chaff in us. He will refine our character, and mould us to be more like Him. We need to be grounded in Christ through the sifting process, and have unwavering faith in Him. And once our suffering ends (yes, it will!), we need to turn around and strengthen others who may be going through the same phase in their lives.
