Jesus and Satan
https://www.walkinginfaitheveryday.com/2025/12/jesus-and-satan.html?m=1
The expression “Satan has asked to sift you like wheat” appears in Luke 22:31, where Jesus says to Peter:
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has asked to sift you like wheat.”
What does “to sift like wheat” mean?
1. Beating – to separate the grain from the husk.
2. Sifting/Threshing shaking and tossing the wheat so that the worthless chaff is blown away, leaving only the good grain.
This was a rough, intense process, meant to separate what has true value from what does not.
Spiritual meaning of the image
When Jesus says Satan wants to “sift you like wheat,” it means:
1. Satan wants to test, pressure, and shake the disciples, to put them through a difficult inner and outer trial.
2. His goal is to make them stumble, to cause their faith to weaken just as chaff falls away during sifting.
3. It implies heavy spiritual testing, emotional turmoil, confusion, and fear.
In other words, Satan requests permission to place them in the fire of temptation, hoping they will fall away from God.
But the key is Jesus’ next words
Right after that, Jesus says:
“But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail.” (Luke 22:32)
This shows:
Satan can test, but only with God’s permission.
Jesus intercedes for His followers.
The purpose of the test is not destruction, but purification and strengthening.
Understanding it today
It means that:
people sometimes go through intense struggles, doubts, fears, losses, or spiritual dryness,
these moments reveal the strength or weakness of one’s faith,
but God remains present and leads the person through the trial toward growth and maturity.
2. Peter – a trial that reveals weakness but leads to restoration
After Jesus warns Peter that Satan wants to sift him, the events unfold exactly that way.
How was Peter “sifted”?
Peter believed he was the strongest disciple.
Satan used fear and pressure to break his self-confidence.
Peter then denied Jesus three times, even though he swore he would die for Him.
This is the moment when “the chaff falls away” Peter discovers that his own strength is not enough.
What does God do with this?
Jesus had already said: “I have prayed for you so that your faith will not fail.”
Peter falls, but he is not destroyed.
His faith is shaken, but it survives.
The trial shows Peter who he really is and teaches him to depend entirely on God.
After the Resurrection, Jesus restores Peter (John 21:15–19), and Peter becomes a pillar of the early Church.
The trial didn’t destroy him it purified him.
3. Job – a trial that reveals deep faith
Job is another powerful example of being “sifted.”
What does Satan do?
Like in Luke 22, Satan asks for permission to test Job:
- taking his wealth,
- his children,
- his health,
- his reputation.
His goal is to make Job curse God just as worthless chaff is separated from grain.
What does God allow?
God allows the trial but sets clear limits. Satan cannot go beyond what God permits.
What happens?
Job suffers greatly, questions deeply, wrestles with God but does not abandon his faith.
In the end, God restores Job and blesses him even more than before.
Again, the same picture emerges: the trial reveals the authenticity of Job’s faith.
4. What ties Peter and Job together?
Peter Job
Sifted through fear and personal failure Sifted through suffering and loss
Falls temporarily Remains steadfast, but deeply tested
Jesus restores him God restores him
Emerges more mature Emerges more deeply rooted in faith
In both cases, Satan tests but God directs the outcome.
5. Why does God allow trials (“sifting”)?
⭐ 1) To purify faith
Trials remove illusions, false confidence, pride, and shallow motives.
⭐ 2) To teach us dependence on God
Self-reliance breaks so true reliance can form.
⭐ 3) To reveal genuine faith
Satan claims people only serve God when life is good. Trials prove otherwise.
⭐ 4) To prepare us for greater purposes
Before God uses someone greatly, He refines them deeply.
⭐ 5) To shape character
Trials create patience, humility, compassion, and spiritual maturity.
6. How this applies to everyday life (modern examples)
1. Losing a job
Sifting: fear, loss of control, doubt.
God’s work: realignment of priorities, deeper trust, new opportunities.
2. Broken relationships
Sifting: heartbreak, insecurity, inner wounds exposed.
God’s work: emotional healing, maturity, healthier future relationships.
3. Illness
Sifting: fear, helplessness.
God’s work: gratitude, inner strength, compassion, deeper spiritual life.
4. Financial crisis
Sifting: shame, stress, tension.
God’s work: humility, wisdom, discipline, new blessings.
5. Spiritual dryness
Sifting: doubt, emptiness, temptation to quit.
God’s work: deeper roots in faith, maturity, perseverance.
6. Betrayal by someone close
Sifting: emotional pain, bitterness.
God’s work: forgiveness, inner freedom, stronger character.
Every trial follows this pattern:
1. Pressure and shaking (the wheat is beaten and tossed)
2. Removal of what is weak, unhealthy, or false (the chaff falls away)
3. Strengthening of what is true and valuable (the grain remains)
Trials don’t destroy a person they reveal and refine the person.
🌟 8. Final message
In every test, God is present.
He does not allow sifting to break you,
but to heal, strengthen, mature, and prepare you.
Just as Jesus prayed for Peter, He intercedes for those who face trials today.
https://www.walkinginfaitheveryday.com/2025/12/jesus-and-satan.html?m=1
https://www.walkinginfaitheveryday.com/2025/12/jesus-and-satan.html?m=1
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