Permission Granted!

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift 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.

This is a chilling exchange between Jesus and Peter for sure. This passage confirms two basic truths that can be both disheartening and disturbing. Satan must ask permission to attack us and God allows some attacks. Jesus knew that the plan for Peter was important as the church was going to be built upon Peter’s ministry. He also knew that the stakes were high so the flaws of Simon had to be removed. Simon came with spiritual flaws just like the rest of us. They would never work in the ministry for which he was being called at a later time. Leading up to this passage, Peter was involved in a debate about who among them was the greatest. There was and is no room in any ministry for spiritual pride.

God does not allow Satan to invade unless there is something that needs to be removed from our character. He will use Satan like a puppet allowing Satan to use us as puppets through our weaknesses. It is the spiritual warfare that has existed since the beginning of the relationship between man and God. God could have easily kept Satan out of the Garden of Eden. He allowed Satan entry into the Garden just as He allows Satan entry into our lives. God sets the boundaries around us and determines in what ways Satan can intersect our lives.

I am so humbled this morning when I consider the boundaries that were set around me during the past 5 years. There is no doubt that Satan was chomping at the bit to get to me, but God did not allow this until last year. He waited until I had been through certain experiences and had experienced Him in faithfulness. While God loosened up some boundaries for Satan to attack, He tightened up other areas in my life. He fortified all that was solid in my life and provided entry only into my character that needed sifting. ‘God will never allow the enemy to sift any believer that does not need something sifted.’ When Godly People Do Ungodly Things, p. 53.

2010 was one of the worst years of my life as Satan relentlessly assaulted my character. Satan was determined to reveal and expose anything that wasn’t authentic in my life. He was the tweezers that God used to lift out many thorns. God did not leave me in that season of sifting any longer than necessary. What Satan thought would be used against me God removed as it surfaced. I know the day that God decided the season of sifting was over and that enough was enough! Praise God that the season is over! It was brutal and suffocating but God breathed fresh life into me.

I still have a long way to go but I am closer than I was.