³¹ And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. ³² But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me,
strengthen your brethren.” Luke 22:31-32

Jesus was the Superstar of the day. If He would have been on social media, His fame would have exceeded even the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo or Khabane Lame. To this day, some 2000 years later, His name is still the most recognized name throughout history.

Of all the people who clamored to be near Him, He chose twelve to pour Himself into. On the very day when it mattered most, one of those twelve would betray Him, one would deny Him, and the rest would stumble and scatter.

The one who would deny Him was Simon Peter, and the conversation taking place in the introductory passage happened just hours before that dreaded incident.

Jesus had told His disciples multiple times and in many ways that He was going to die a violent death, but that He would come to life again three days later. But they pushed that thought aside. A Messiah dying a violent death was not what they wanted to hear.  It didn’t mix well with popular theology. A group of extremists called Zealots (due to their zeal and passion) used scripture like the prophecy of the Son of Man in Daniel chapter 7 to convince many that the promised Messiah would come as a conquering King, ousting the Romans and establishing His kingdom in Jerusalem. Their message was widespread and very popular. They failed to see the scriptures that spoke of Him symbolically coming first as a Lamb and then as a Lion.

Although Simon Peter was never identified in scripture as a Zealot, I believe he, too, may have been confused. He was not willing to allow the thought to sink in of a Messiah who would first come as that Lamb who would be slain to atone for the sins of the world, and later as the Lion who would physically rule the earth. He had boldly and emphatically stated in front of them all that he was willing to die for Jesus and he would never deny Him! Yet here Jesus is, having this conversation with Peter, telling him that Satan desires to sift him like wheat!

What does that even mean, to be sifted like wheat? It sounds scary, especially knowing it comes at the hand of Satan! Why the parallel to wheat? Traditionally, after wheat has been harvested, sifting involves a violent shaking and beating in order to separate the good from the bad, the edible from the inedible. To sift is to sort out what is useful or valuable.

Jesus knew that Peter was about to deny Him. He knew! And yet we see the compassion He has for His beloved disciple, telling Peter that He, HE – the Son of God – was praying for Peter!  Why? So that Peter’s faith would not fail in the sifting. What’s more, He was waiting for the moment when Peter would turn again to embrace his destiny!

Even Peter easily recognized Jesus as Savior at first, but it wasn’t until that moment, sitting by the beach, eating a casual and joyful breakfast with Jesus that I believe he came to know Jesus as Lord.  He surrendered all in a passionate expression of love shared between the two of them.

The other disciple who is most remembered on that dreadful day is Judas. Judas Iscariot, who is arguably the most notable traitor in history – for thirty pieces of silver, selling vital information about Jesus that led to His arrest and crucifixion. Betraying Jesus with a kiss.

Both Peter and Judas fell. The difference between Peter and Judas is that one got back up again and the other one didn’t.  Peter surrendered all – his life, his desires, his will – that day on the beach. Judas neither got back up nor surrendered. Instead, Judas got wrapped up in his own blame and shame and guilt and sorrow and could not recover. Judas, convinced by Satan that this was the end, rejected the gift of life God had given him and went and hung himself. Judas never discovered his destiny.

We all get stuck in that cycle of downward spiraling thoughts that suck the life right out of us, leaving us feeling helpless and sometimes condemned, don’t you think? I’m sure Peter felt that for a time as well. The nightmare is if we don’t break out, it leads to death. But in Peter’s surrender, he turned again as Jesus prophesied that he would, coming back much stronger. Peter was now ready to go and turn the world upside down for his faith in the risen Messiah! 

You, too, will feel the sufferings, separations, and violent shaking of your world. Perhaps you already have. Perhaps it has been one of your own making, perhaps not. It is something we all feel. In the book of John, chapter 10 verse 10 Jesus makes it clear that it is the enemy (Satan) who is the one who comes to kill, steal, and destroy. Setting the record straight, Jesus affirms that HE is the one who comes to give abundant life! Jesus does not initiate the sifting but I believe it is allowed so that we can be refined, so that only the valuable parts remain. In a way that only He can, He knows how to both allow for us to have free will and to take that violent shaking of a fallen world and turn it for our good and for His glory!

Saint Augustine once made the argument that one cannot love what one does not know. It seems so straightforward, doesn’t it? Yet our churches are full of lip service Christians who are not quite sure how to move from surface relationship into intimacy, from casual Christianity into a lifelong radical abandon. I know because I was one of them.

For anyone who has ever desired more (and yet possibly out of fear of what others might think if they only knew the real you) were silenced in admitting your own need, then my new book, The SIFTING, is for you. I was afraid to admit how desperate for God I truly was, not yet understanding that my desperation was the key to His presence. This is the story of my journey, my sifting, and of my surrender; where I finally lost faith in my own independence and learned to depend upon God instead.

Come, journey with me down this mad, bumpy, curvy, wild and sometimes funny road that shows the distance I traveled between embracing Jesus as Savior and fully bowing before Him as Lord.  Just like Jesus was praying for Peter in the midst of his sifting, He was praying for me too – and He is also praying for you. It is a prayer of advocacy so that you will not give up your faith in the process of the sifting, and that you too will return stronger! I made it, and you can make it too!  

The SIFTING is now available on Amazon!