God wants us to do His will, but we’ll never reach a place of spiritual maturity where we’re ‘Satan-free’. We can overcome him, but we can’t eliminate him. Look at Peter. His only gear was overdrive! He was always in the middle of everything that was going on, but he wasn’t always on top of things. Before he ended up leading the church, he even denied being a disciple of Jesus. That might shock us, but there’s nothing about any of us that surprises God. He doesn’t call someone and say, ‘I hope you’re the right person.’ Jesus told Peter, ‘Satan has demanded to sift you…like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail’ (vv. 31-32 NASB). Isn’t that an amazing revelation? Even when we don’t know how to pray for ourselves, Jesus is praying for us. ‘He ever liveth to make intercession for them’ (Hebrews 7:25 KJV). Jesus told Peter, ‘When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers’ (Luke 22:32 NASB). The mess we’re in today actually has the potential to become a ministry to others when God gets involved. Not only can He turn our lives around, He can use us to turn the lives of others around too. Here’s one more thing to think about: sifting is a method of purifying, a way of straining out the debris and refining whatever is left. That means there has to be something worth salvaging in us before the sifting even begins. So if we find that God’s letting the sifting happen to us, we mustn’t be discouraged – He can obviously see something that’s worth the effort of refining! Today God’s calling you. Don’t waste another moment; give your life to Him.
