01-30-09 Sifting

And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. (Luke 22:31,32)


Has there come a time in our walk with God, wanting to know Him more and more, and He is requiring of us to be sifted like wheat? What is this sifting? What does it look like?
I would rather be sifted now, and as Jesus said to Peter, when you are converted…I do not want my sifting to be at the time of tribulation as many will experience.


Sifting is a hard thing to go through. It must be recognized as an “honor” and not a punishment. You will know the time of your sifting. The wind will be different, the clouds will be different, there will be an eerie feeling in the air, and we must see it as an opportunity being performed in our life that is a “Sanctification” process.

Many that go through the sifting process will instantly want to return to the “garden of their souls”, take a quick inventory of the “weeds” left there and how well they have grown. The decision to make at this time is whether or not we are going to pull those weeds up for good, bear the roots to the open air and let them dry up and die, or water those weeds once again so they continue to grow, always available, just in case things go wrong and then that individual will have something to turn to for comfort, a false comfort.


It can be a great discomfort to look at those weeds while things are going well in our lives, at times when it seems that God is pouring out His revelation and blessings. We hear God, we see Gods hand at work, and we set aside and do not even want to look at those weeds that remain inside of us in our garden. But I say that a season of sifting will now require us to look into that garden, see the weeds for what they are, “Sins”, and pull the root systems up. We must look at the Sin, and despise, “Hate”, the sin as much as God does. To truly repent, we must bring ourselves to a place of dying to these massive well nurtured weeds that can take us from the realm of spiritual obedience to torment of soul. “Can we truly Travail in our soul if we are farming the iniquities”?


We can look at sifting as a beckoning from God, a beckoning for us to return, and be converted. We must make a decision to either pull weeds once and for all, or sign up for our due judgment that will come. He is coming as an all consuming fire, to burn all things that are built with wood, hay and stubble. As we build we must rid our lives of the materials that will be consumed. You are constantly building, one day at a time, but which foundation are you building on and what are you building with? The sifting in our lives allows our vessels to be inspected by a spiritual building inspector, this is God. Listen to his voice when He tells you to rid your life of these items that keep you far from sanctification. Which temple are we? Are we a Holy Temple? Or are we just holy looking people on the outside?


Blessings,
Larry D.