THANK GOD FOR THE SIFTING!

"And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat." Luke 22:31

Many of you are about to find yourself in the midst of your very own wilderness. In a season of sifting. This is where you will find out how resilient you are. How to persevere and endure without giving way. This only happens when you choose the path of humility. When you realize your need for Jesus in everything, and completely relinquish the need to be in control of anything.

I had a dream several years ago where a voice said to me, "Satan has asked to sift you as wheat", and I woke up. I can attest to you from that day to this day, the Lord gave him permission. I also can attest that what the enemy meant to use to take me out, the Lord used to refine me, strengthen me, purify me, and prepare me for the purposes and plans He has for me.

"But I (Jesus) have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” Luke 22:32 (Emphasis mines)

The term "sift" in the Bible is often used metaphorically to describe a process of testing, separating, or purifying per Bible Hub. The word sifting is often associated with Satan's desire to shake and break someone's faith according to multiple sources.

The truth is I needed the sifting. There were things in me that needed to go before I could lead at the capacity the Father desires for me to. I was full of pride and needed character development. I needed to grow in another level of spiritual maturity and learn to war with the tools the Father had given me on a greater scale to where I could train others. I needed to fully relinquish all control over to Jesus concerning my life. He had to become enough for me where I didn't seek validation from man concerning the calling on my life or the path the Father had chosen for me. He broke off the desire to be seen by man, liked by man, or even be accepted by man. He taught me what a true Shepard is supposed to look like. He taught me what love really is and how to lead well with love. He showed me He is my Provider. He is the Source for my provision, and everything else is just resources. The Source nevers run dry, but resources do. I have learned all these things in the sifting. I'm wiser, and now have a self control that I did not have because of the sifting.

Don't resist the sifting, welcome it when it comes. Lean in to Jesus, and remain rooted and grounded in truth. Choose the path of transformation which is not the easy path. His purposes and plans for your life far supercede anything you could ever imagine, but you must yield to the process to walk successfully in your God-given purpose.

I have learned over the years the sifting can either lead you to quit or lead you to a deeper relationship with Jesus through humility. The sifting will produce a greater level of humility within you if you let it, and a level of faith in Jesus that you have not yet obtained. The enemy will try to break you, and get you to curse God and walk away from Him as he did Job. This is when it is vital that the word be in your heart, and not something you just memorized. Remember the character of Christ. Remember the love of the Father. This is what sustains you. You should not be connected to Jesus for what you can attain from a worldly perspective on this earth (influence, money, people, places, things). The sifting will reveal where your heart really is.

From the outside looking in it would appear that I lost everything, but in reality I gained so much more than what I appeared to lose. I'm not speaking from what I read in a book. I'm speaking because I lived this, and I feel to warn some of you that are about to go into a season like this. Remember, it is temporary and not permanent. The Lord is not allowing this to hurt you, but He is allowing this because He loves you.

The calling on many of your lives requires a certain level of humility so you can steward well what the Father has for you. It requires that the Lord be on the throne of your heart and no one else. Don't take the rejection and being overlooked personal. It all has purpose. Lean into Jesus like never before. Welcome the refining and purifying. It's for your good.

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