Nougat 30

We might wonder what to do when life happens. After we have a good cry, or not; we do have other options. Consider today’s Holy Nougat

““Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭22:31-32‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This is the Good News

Jesus not only knew that Simon would be sifted; He prayed for him! Why is that Good News, you ask. Just consider. Each of us has a sifting season. Some mild, some rather rough. For sifting is like the testing of our faith. It separates everything down to what really matters: what it is/in Whom we believe and why we believe what we say we believe.

Now if you’ve been so blessed to have your faith so deeply grounded and never tested seriously, give thanks! Some of us get sifted in marriage, through death of a loved one(s), through theft of physical and/or other forms of abuse, through debilitating situations (including crises, ill health, accidents, or even dementia), or trying to make sense of the news. And unfortunately, not all of us make it through the sifting.

Whether we do or not; our assurance is that Jesus is praying for us – just as He did for Simon. Romans 8:34 assures us of this – that Jesus sits at God’s right hand interceding on our behalf; ie beseeching God when necessary to not count our sins against us (and, I believe He also tries to lighten the sifting. Isn’t that what taking His yoke is about – shifting our stress to Him). And if we believe that Simon wrote those epistles bearing his name; we can say we have a testimony from one who knows, who’s been sifted.

Remember – Jesus’ prayer for Simon is that his faith didn’t fail. Isn’t interesting that He didn’t pray that the sifting didn’t happen? One could argue that even Jesus got sifted; hence the prayer/s in the Garden of Gethsemane. Not my will but thine; Let them (us, though it was the disciples then) be one; and Let none be lost, save for the one who sold out to Satan. Yes, it is true that Jesus never missed the mark when sifted; and that too is encouragement for us that we can overcome temptation.

*The clue lies in where we place our focus*. Not on any random person, be it friend, family, fearless political or spiritual leader. Not in books, not even the Bible (for the Bible point the Way, it’s not the Source of our focus). Not in nature, for Creation is also groaning under the weight of human handling, rather mishandling. We turn to The One Who Created us. For that’s what Jesus did. He asked to be released from the cup of testing; but yielded to God’s will. He was open to God’s glory which would in turn be seen as Jesus’ glory. And it was! We know therefore that we can turn to Jesus, Who is God.

Will our moment/s of sifting come?

Definitely!

Will we overcome?

Maybe.

Why maybe?

Because the outcome depends on how we choose to overcome, whether we turn to the One Whom our help comes from.

I pray God’s grace and mercy in each of our moments of testing.

—

May all we seek be found in Christ