Try to imagine being in Peter's shoes when Jesus spoke this to him, "Simon, satan has asked for you that he may sift you as wheat." Now, if those words wouldn't shake a body up, I don't know what would. But Jesus didn't stop there. He went on to say, "But I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail, and when you have returned to me strengthen your brethren." PHEW! Thank goodness for the word BUT! Still...Jesus didn't promise to protect or keep Peter from this 'sifting'. He didn't say He would prevent it from happening. Rather, it was clear the Lord was going to allow it, and that it would ,in fact, come between them-at least for a time. He spoke of Peter returning to Him....and when he did, that he should strengthen His brethren.
The great thing about God's Word is that everything experienced by the people within its pages has a spiritual life application for present day readers.That's you and me.
My attention is first drawn to the term "sift as wheat" because I just happen to believe that every single word, phrase, term, expression in the Bible has been divinely selected for a purpose. So let's try to picture the devil sifting Peter as wheat. Hmmm...well we know he isn't talking about something physical because...well....ya just can't sift a human being the way ya sift wheat...right? Having ruled that possibility out, it's time to pull out the trusty Strongs Concordance and look up the word, "sift". Here's what it says: the Greek word translated sift is 'siniazo' to winnow (a sieve).
My understanding of a sieve is no doubt the same as yours. It is used to separate something useful from something that is not useful. The sieve fetches up what you don't want so that only what is good and of use is strained through.
Ok...now I don't believe for a minute that Satan had any good intentions in this 'sifting'...nope...none at all. But here's the thing. Our enemy can't do anything to a child of God unless the Lord permits it. And if He permits it, there is ALWAYS a purpose and ALWAYS something good. He uses what Satan means for evil for His good intentions. Like Joseph when he was thrown into the pit by his brothers, then sold into slavery. Their intentions were evil toward their brother, but God had other plans. You know the end of that story!
Often, like Peter, we feel like we're ready to take on the world for Jesus.....ready to give up everything for Him-but Jesus, who has a bird's eye view of the most secret places of the human heart, knows better.
Sometimes a divine sifting is in order to fetch up all the 'stuff'...the ideas...the mindsets...the perceptions...things that have not yet been through the filter of truth.When this sifting happens-it seems like everything is tossed up in the air, and while it's spiraling to the ground we sure don't feel like we're going to land on our feet.In fact, it feels like the enemy is running circles around us waving a 'victory is mine' flag.
Satan thought this way when he heard Peter, the faithful disciple-deny his Lord-not once, but three times. BUT....Jesus had prayed for Him that his faith would not fail. And it didn't.
One thing we want to find remaining in the sieve is our faith. Faith in God. Faith in His Word. Faith that no matter what happens....no matter how great or intense the sifting may be in our lives we will be alright. All confidence in self or the world...all thoughts and ideas contaminated by deception must be strained through the sieve...leaving only what is true.We can count on what is true. We can stand on what is true. All of God's words are truth.
Peter found out that Jesus knew him better than he knew himself.
He had to undergo a restoration, so to speak. Stripped down to the framework of who he thought he was so that Jesus could show him who he really is. Only then was he fit for service.
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