Many believers today are experiencing tremendous challenges in their marriages, health, finances, and overall well-being. The pressure of our circumstances puts our backs against the wall, and we feel as if we don’t know what to do. We’ve prayed constantly to the Father about it, and there does seem to be progress, but total deliverance isn’t coming at the pace we expect. It’s not easy, and we’re wondering what is going on. Well, I’d like to offer something I strongly ask you to consider. It starts in Luke 22:31, when our Lord and Savior gathered the disciples together for their last Passover meal. This was a very special time for all of them, and Jesus spoke directly to Simon Peter to give him a Word that would not only sustain him but brace him for the promotion and assignment to come. This is an astonishing Word, and those of us living today must embrace it as well.
In Luke 22:31, Jesus Christ told Simon Peter that Satan had asked to sift him like wheat. By this verse, and many others, you and I can know concretely that the devil can do nothing in the earth without seeking permission from Heavenly Father. Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, happens without God’s permission. 2Timothy 4:8 tells us that Heavenly Father is a Righteous Judge, and it pleased Him to create the Courts of Heaven. There, He hears the cases that satan brings against the people of God.
If you’ve been with us for a while, no doubt you’ve heard me state or write that the devil has no foot-hole lest we provide it. In other words, he can’t get his foot in the door of our lives unless there’s some darkness and sin he’s observed in our mode of operating. In Revelation 12:10, the devil is branded the ‘accuser’, because this is the role he plays in the Courts of Heaven. He accuses us based on the sins that we’ve committed. In Jeremiah 17:9(NLT), God told the prophet, “But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.” Heavenly Father hears the devil’s case against us, and He judges righteously.
When he walked upon this earth, our Lord and Savior was constantly in prayer. The Father revealed His Will to Jesus and told him the future through the Holy Spirit. This same Spirit abides in the believer today. Peter had a destiny that was integral to the move of the Gospel, and the devil sought permission from God to sift Peter like wheat. This sifting business was a grinding so fierce that it devastates a person down to the very core. It can wipe you out!
Like all of us, Peter had some skeletons in his closet, but Jesus Christ is our Intercessor. 1Timothy 2:5 tells us there is one God, and there is one mediator between Heavenly Father and human-beings, and this man is the Lord Jesus Christ. He prayed to the Father on Simon Peter’s behalf. What was Jesus’s prayer? Luke 22:32 tells us that Jesus prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail him. We must know that when Jesus prays, righteous results are guaranteed. He prayed that Peter would not allow himself to be stymied by his own act of betrayal against Jesus, that he would not wallow in self-condemnation and grief. Instead, he would be converted to the point of having a change of mind and heart through faith. He would be increased in spiritual power so he could fulfill his destiny.
Think about something. Jesus Christ didn’t have to tell Peter about the devil’s case against him in heaven. He could have kept this to himself. You and I must ask ourselves why. Why was it necessary for Peter to know? We can’t identify all the reasons, but we most certainly can and should surmise one of the most important reasons. Peter had to know a price had been paid that he might continue his destiny on earth. He also had to know Jesus Christ as his Intercessor.
It’s not enough to simply know the sacrifice of what has been done specifically for our individual lives; we must be deeply thankful for it. We must appreciate the overwhelming love that backed it. We must also recognize that it was given despite the reality that we didn’t deserve it. The conversion that Jesus Christ spoke to Peter about in Luke 22:32 is not the new birth. It is the change that takes place in our hearts when our faith has endured and withstood great difficulty, and as a result is increased. This change comes from a deeper connection to God through Christ and a deeper appreciation of the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for us.
Many believers are in the thick of tribulation and dealing with it by questioning God or even blaming Him. They are not understanding that the cross of Christ must be a greater reality for them in the deepest part of their hearts. The devil has asked to sift us like wheat and used our sins to build a case against us. Jesus is continually making intercession on our behalf. It is critical that gratitude molds our faith for this during challenging times, so that our faith is purified through the fire; and like Peter, we can continue to pursue their destinies with the faith that is required.
It is necessary for all of us to repent because we haven’t demonstrated the gratitude and thankfulness for the sacrifice of Christ. We must ask God’s forgiveness for not adequately measuring the suffering Christ endured and the burden to the Father for sparing not His only begotten Son for our gain. It will please the Father to forgive us. He will give us grace to endure and come out of tribulation with the victory Christ has won for us.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Remembering the Sacrifice of Christ”, written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2019. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.