Strong Faith

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat.  
But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon,
that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented
 and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.”
Luke 22:31,32 NLT

If you have been a follower of Jesus for a while, you have experienced, like most of us, that there are mountain tops in our faith when we feel God can do anything. And then there are valleys, when we need enough faith just to get out of bed in the morning. So, the passage from Luke above should encourage you, as it does me.

On the night of his arrest Jesus celebrates the Passover meal with his disciple and then turns to Peter and addresses him by his old name Simon, not Peter, the rock that he will become.  Soon Jesus will be gone, so he is preparing his beloved friends for his absence.  Satan will be out to distract them from their mission, disrupt their lives and ministry and kill them.  Satan has asked Jesus to sift each of them like wheat, and Jesus is going to allow that. 

The answer to why he allows it may lie in Romans 5:3-5 where Paul tells his Roman friends to rejoice in their trials, because ultimately those hardships will create endurance in them that will strengthen their faith.  We shouldn’t miss that Satan asked for Jesus’ permission, since Christ has all authority in heaven and earth.  Jesus is not afraid of our failures.  Jesus’ plan is to use our failures to purify and strengthen our faith. If we let him, he can lead us out of defeat into victory.

That same Christ pleaded to the Father for the disciples who would abandon him, that their faith be strengthened, so that they will repent and will turn back to trusting in Jesus.  We have all been in a place of depression or despair when we could not see a way out by trusting Jesus, but chose to fall back into doing it our way, or the world’s way.  Jesus knows our weaknesses. The Bible tells us he himself was tempted to sin, to disobey God and let fear, deception or pride lead him into trouble, as we are, but he did not give in and sin.

I love to think that Jesus is praying for each of us that our faith not fail.  That strong faith, more precious than gold or silver, will develop the strength of character needed to use our experiences to encourage and strengthen others. 

Dear friends, be blessed as you trust the Holy Spirit to lead you and strengthen your spirit.  May you see God use what you learned by your apparent failures to strengthen others in their faith.  Be encouraged as you trust that God is with you every moment and he is working for your good, and smile.  Amen.
Mary Sumner ~ April 9, 2023