“Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 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
Ever felt like sifted wheat?
What can we learn from this passage?
- There can be a sifting before a calling. We all know, Peter’s betrayal happened before He walked fully in world-altering ministry. Could your sifting be a pre-requisite, a way He is preparing you for all that is to come?
- He intercedes for us. Too often don’t we forget, the God of the Universe is enthroned above us, interceding for His children? Shouldn’t that bring us encouragement and hope?
- He knows the end from the beginning. Jesus knew that Peter would return to Him. Scripture says, “When you have returned to me…” How refreshing that our failings aren’t the end of the story!
- Faith never fails us. Faith is not some emotional hype we conjure up, but a gift God gives us to make it through our darkest nights.
- Our trials aren’t just for our refining purposes, but a tool God uses to strengthen our brethren. Whatever we’re going through people are watching. Will we let it grow our spiritual muscle? Will we use our experiences to strengthen others, as Jesus instructs us?
Peter’s downward spiral seems to begin that moment He renounced Jesus.
But how did Peter forget so quickly how he walked on water, witnessed miracles, knew himself of the resurrection of Lazarus?
And I wonder did Peter lose focus, hide in unforgiveness and bitterness? Did He think Jesus had left or failed Him, just because He related to the crucifixion, but hadn’t yet seen the resurrection?
What makes us go back to our comfort zones after we have experienced miracles?
What made Peter return to fishing when Jesus said, “I tell you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”
Could it be, Jesus waits for us too on the shores of after our very betrayal of Him? There, a fire burns. Will we leave our boats? Come to the place where Jesus has prepared food for us?
Then…
There was that one encounter. Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” He instructed Him, “If you love me, go feed my sheep.”
How everything changes when Jesus speaks.
That one act of forgiveness and mandate shifts Peter’s eyes to a needy world, to the grace and mercy of a loving Savior…leading Peter to live out what He was prophesied to be…
A man of faith, waiting in the upper room. The one who knew in His Spirit what fire felt like. The first one to preach, telling the church of Acts about who Jesus was…
The one who fearlessly trumpeted an unapologetic call to repentance. (Acts 2:14-42)
And what if we too are caught in despair…sitting in need of healing, stuck out on our boat of complacency because we haven’t forgiven ourselves, and others? Isn’t Jesus near?
What if all we need is to see Jesus on the shores of our worst fears? Reach, call, swim to him with the same fervency Peter did? Can we still trust that He is ever near?
Will we jump into the waters and race in His direction?
UNITE Linky
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Enjoy the link-up. Thanks for coming!
10 Comments
May I seek His face each day and know that He forgives and loves me sweetly and gently. Yet, right to the point! I want to be in His service and if the fire is where I must go, then that is where I will go.
Aw yes, Linda – Where He is, that’s where I too want to be!
As always Jen…such a blessing and so encouraging, that He needs to break us before He makes us useful to others but in the end it all works out for our BEST too.
Mary – True! What a good and faithful Father we have! A God we can lean on and trust in, whatever the circumstances!
Thank you for hosting!
Thanks Debbie for joining us each and every Tuesday!
I’ve been reading in I and II Peter for the past couple of months and keep trying to connect the dots back to the Peter we read about in the Gospels. God is a great molder of the human heart!
So good to hear, Michele! Isn’t it amazing the transforming power of God in the lives of Peter, Paul….all of us. Love how He is not a God who is lifeless, powerless, or leaves us the same when He touches us!
Ah.. a very thought provoking post. I love this, “What if all we need is to see Jesus on the shores of our worst fears?” wow.. always leaving your space encouraged to be more, more like Him. Blessings always. Misty
Misty – Oh how guilty I think most of us are for returning to our “boats of normalcy” when God called us to have supernatural faith, a belief in the same God that made Peter walk on water. Oh how I want to step out along the shores, listen to His stories, say, “Yes, Lord” when He calls me to “feed His sheep”.
So glad you leave here encouraged today! That’s wonderful to hear. Sometimes I wonder and don’t often “see” the tangible fruit to my words. I see statistics, and reader count, but it’s not the same as knowing there are people and faces, and stories behind my readers. Thank you! My heart is to write what He shows me and trust Him with the rest !