Sifted

For those of you who read this yesterday, this post has been re-sifted. Isn't that interesting? Yes, I am a work in progress!

When I think of sifting, I picture my mother at the kitchen sink with a sieve. I watch her pour a bubbly, hot liquid through that sieve. She then presses and squeezes the fruit until the sweet juice flows through; the sieve keeps any seeds, skins or unwanted pieces from going into the Mason jar. The result after hours of hard work: yummy blackberry or grape jelly for her family. Those hours of hard work were unknown to her children; we simply enjoyed the "fruit" of her labor. I know the hard work was rewarding to her as she saw her children enjoying her tasty jelly, her labor of love. That's just the way she is.

I've been pondering a verse for a long time. It's chock full of meaning. I don't pretend to know its full meaning, much less half of it. But this is the verse and what I've been learning by experience: "Simon, Simon, look out! Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers" Luke 22:31-32. Jesus is speaking to all of His disciples here, but notice--God hones in on Peter, one who would be a leader in building the church.

In Bible times, grain had to be purified by sifting. The wheat and barley grains were mixed with all kinds of loose fragments from the threshing floor. Everything was put into large sieves that allowed grain to pass through but left most of the rubbish behind.  When Jesus said that Satan wanted to sift Peter like wheat, he was probably referring to the shaking (my emphasis) of the sieve.*

I've heard Beth Moore teach on this years ago and have not forgotten it. If Jesus gave permission for Satan to sift Peter, something needed sifting. He saw rubbish. He saw impurities. He saw motives. He saw wrong mindsets. Perhaps, He saw past heartaches which still needed healing. It's hard for us to fathom why Jesus would allow Satan to buffet His disciple, His beloved. My pastor explained this so well. Where Satan has had reign in our lives, he has permission to traffic. To buffet. To torture. It does not negate the fact that we are children of God. We just need sifting. 

Is your world being shaken? Do you feel as if the once stable life you knew is now unsure? Is life turning out the way you thought it would, or are you in a season of disillusionment? You may be undergoing a sifting.

As believers, we often have a picture in our minds of how our lives will turn out if we "do this," and if we "do that." So, we do all the things we are taught. From the outside, we are living in right standing with God. But what about the motives of our hearts? Are they selfish? Or are they God-centered? Why do we want the results that the Word of God promises? To boast? To say, "Look at what I've done. I've been good"? As Christians, some examples could be going to church, reading the Bible, praying, giving, being a good parent, friend or relative; perhaps serving in a ministry or working hard for our employer. Now we are commanded by God to do all these things! But it seems after a long season of sowing, we often become weary and our thoughts can become tainted. We have worked hard. We have been faithful. And we are just not seeing the results we have envisioned. We must remember that by grace through faith we are saved, lest any man should boast (Ephes. 2:8). Even our works are to be evidence of God's grace, and we simply cannot boast in them. We cannot earn grace. We cannot boast in our works. In our sacrifices. Our works are indeed a result of our faith, but anything we do in obedience to God is an offering to Him, not something we await a "payment" on. We sow in faith. We keep our eyes on God. We sow into others' lives. This means the other person has choices they must make in life. They have to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12). It's their faith walk. Not ours. We sow. God brings the increase (1 Cor. 5-7). Not we sow, we bring the increase. This is hidden self-righteousness. And it is very hard to see. I believe sifting often deals with our motives and mindsets. It's a deeper work. It's a hidden work. It's a refining work. God cannot trust us with the bigger things He's promised us if He can't trust us with our motives and mindsets in the here and now. He loves us too much for that. He knows exactly how we will handle His glory beforehand. He won't let us handle His glory if we won't give it directly to Him. We must do all the right things to get the right results because we know it is only accomplished by His grace. It simply will not get done any other way. Our hearts are deceitful above all things (Jer. 17:9), but God is greater than our hearts (1 John 3:20). Praise God for that! As we surrender to the knowledge of our own frailty and deceitfulness of heart, God comes in and puts more of His heart into us. This brings pure, God-centered motives! This brings new God-centered mindsets and all fear must flee. 

What vision has God given you for your life that has not come to pass? Are you ready for it? Then, you must be ready and willing to be sifted. Ready to be humbled under the mighty hand of God. Ready for your will to be broken and God's will to be done. What will this bring? GOD'S CHARACTER. Sure, our gifts and callings open up doors of opportunity, but character keeps us in those places. Character knows what to do with admiration and praise.  I know what you're thinking. I thank others all the time for the work they do for God by serving me. It's okay to be thanked and appreciated; it is certainly biblical. But it's critical that deep down we know the source of the work: God. Any good result we see is only by God's grace. So hand it all over to God. Point others' fingers upward. God-ward. Let's allow God to forge character within us so we know how to handle His glory. We, on our knees, display humility, love and gratefulness and point to the only One who is high and lifted up (Isaiah 6:1).

After the sifting process, we may find that sifting was indeed our friend, masked as an enemy. Let's show Satan that when he sifts us, we humbly submit to our God. We are not submitting to Satan, but to God. We entrust all things to a God who is Sovereign. Then the sifting will do its good work. The devil will flee (James 5:7). God will replace those places once occupied by fear, torment and pride with love, peace and humility.

My mom put a lot of work into those jellies. It took time. But when the process was finished, she would serve her children that sweetness. When our sifting process is finished (for the present time), only you and God will know all that has transpired. Only you and He have seen the blood, sweat and tears it took while working it all out, submitting all things to our God. That's what makes it special. A hidden work. Then God will enthusiastically serve you and me up to this world, and the world will "taste and see that the LORD is good" (Psalm 34:8).

*The Manners and Customs of Bible Times, by Ralph Gower