A Great Shaking

Peter was assured in his self-confidence that he would die for Jesus if necessary. Instead of Jesus recognizing bravery, he said, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Jesus knew that Peter was about to be tested, and He didn’t pray for the great shaking to be avoided. Instead Jesus prayed that Peter’s faith not fail.

When we have a great shaking of our faith, it’s tempting for our faith to fail. We may feel that God has deserted us in our greatest time of need. Yet just the opposite is true—Jesus is closer to us than ever before. We may not feel or sense His presence, but our faith stands assured that He would never leave us.

In the shaking or sifting of our faith, many things fall off of us: our pride, self-reliance, self-confidence, or anything that we thought was under our control. When our faith is shaken, we recognize that only what we do for Christ will last. We stop caring about what other people think about us. We learn to set our faces squarely towards heaven and seek God’s divine hand of intervention.

God isn’t setting us up to fail. In fact, He gives us everything we need to rise up in victory in spite of the odds stacked against us. He’s wanting us to stand firm in our faith so that we can turn back and help others be strengthened in their faith as well. The great shaking of our faith that was meant to destroy us will actually be used by God to make us spiritually stronger and more ready to build the kingdom of God.

Prayer

Dear Lord, in this great shaking of my faith I want to stand strong in Your Spirit. Give me everything I need to remain in Your plan for my life. Amen.

In His Service,

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