"When you have returned to Me..."

"And the Lord said, 'Simon, Simon! Indeed, 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 brothers.'"   - Luke 22:31,32

       When you read these verses, do you feel the power and love eminating from the words? There is revelation upon revelation packed into these few sentences. These are the words Jesus said to Peter right before Peter betrayed Him. It was a message of failure...and of hope. Let's dissect these verses a little further.

        In verse 31, Jesus tells Peter that, "yes, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat."  Jesus could say that about every single one of us. Satan has a desire for you. Never forget that. That he may do with us he wants. Sifting like wheat is not a good illustration in today's society. It often conjures images of sifting flour used in baking. But what God was referring to is a very violent act used to separate the grain from the stalk and the chaff. It meant literally tearing the wheat apart. Satan desired to have Peter to sift him like wheat. Satan desires to sift us like wheat; to separate us from God's goodness and His ways. He wants to snatch God's Word out of our hearts and minds. Satan wants to pull on the seams which join our families together. He wants to wear thin the fabric of our faith. His approach is not as straightforward as a threshing machine, but it is pervasive. It is in the workplace, in the products we buy, in the programs on television, and the books we read.

       But there was a solution. In verse 32, Jesus says, "but I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail."   What if the correct response to the enemies attack is not to focus on the enemies attack but to focus on and pray that our own faith or the faith of our family would be strong enough to withstand the onslaught of the devil? To put your complete and total trust in the Lord's ability to protect you. Remember in James 4:7 when it says, "Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you"?   It is only by our submission to God that we will be able to resist the devil. But what does resist really mean? Does it mean that you should spend hours and hours in grueling spiritual warfare? That would totally take the action out of the hands of the Lord, wouldn't it? "Resist" is to withstand the action or effect of, to be proof against, to weather and endure. We are also told in verse after verse to flee from sin. Second Timothy 2:22 tells us to, "flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace."  First Corinthians 6:18 says to, "flee from sexual immorality."   So, then what is to be our response to the enemy?  Resist the devil and flee from sin. Be proof against the accusations that he is bringing against you by providing the truth of God's Word as a reminder to yourself why his words are lies. So, the responsibility of our protection from the enemy falls on our Father and is activated by our submission to Him. To do otherwise would be an invitation to be sifted as wheat.

       So, when Jesus said to Peter, "I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail",  the Master was not telling His disciple that it would not fail. In fact, He was telling him quite the opposite. He was telling him that it would fail. But in saying "should" rather than "would" He was saying that Peter's faith didn't have to fail. Of course, Peter believed that his faith would not fail, but Jesus knew otherwise. Now comes the real meat of this verse, because Jesus follows up the revelation of Peter's failure with a prophecy. "...and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brothers." Jesus told Peter that he would fail and be restored in the same sentence. There is one thing about going through an experience of falling, backsliding, and coming back to God and that is, you are a lot more sympathetic to other brothers that need to be restored. And Jesus, knowing what was about to take place, knew that Peter was the strongest of his followers and would be instrumental in the restoration of the other disciples. Peter would need a heart of compassion and understanding to help them get back on mission. Essentially, what Jesus was saying through these verses was, "Peter, Satan desires to have you, to tear you apart and separate you from God's goodness, but I have prayed for you, that your faith should be strong, and I have already calculated the grace that you will need to continue on in your purpose after you have returned to Me. And when you do return...help your brothers."

       Love. Power. Purpose. Grace. Strength. Forgiveness. Mercy. Hope. Do you see it now? The reality that God knows you are not always going to be strong and walk in your purpose, but that still does not stop Him from using you...that you're perceived failures do not derail His plans for your life. What a sigh of relief! Not that we can go on sinning, but that when we mess up and step out of our purpose, we are never too far away to step back in.

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