“For I will give the command and will shake Israel along with the other nations as grain is shaken in a sieve, yet not one true kernel will be lost.
Amos 9:9 NLT
Sifting is vital for purity.
God commands that we will be sifted, not out of an angry insistence that we are not good enough, but out of a loving heart that wants us to be the very image of His Son and in the closest relationship to Him that we can possibly have on earth.
But sifting is not pleasant. It involves being tossed about in the wind and shaken and rattled over the rough edges of the metal mesh. It can be a very uncomfortable and disorientating process. But there is a promise that goes along with the command – not one true kernel will be lost!
The devil will shake us and toss us about. His tool is unbelief which if left unchecked will bring rebellion. Always keep in mind that the devil’s desire is to break the relationship we have with God through doubt and mistrust. We cannot have faith without having to deal with doubt. If there was no possibility of doubt within us, then there would be no need of faith. Faith is the antidote for all doubt. When times of sifting come, we need to remember this verse from the book of Amos. God has commanded it, but will also keep us through it and none of those who have put their trust in Him will be lost during the process.
The world around us will also sift us. We live in tumultuous times. There are wars, famines, and seismic shifts in societal norms happening right now as I write this. Change of any kind brings uncertainty, change on this current scale can bring relentless fear and dread. As born-again Christians we can rest in the assurance that this world is not our home. Our life does not end when we die, in fact our real life will just be beginning. It will be life, but not as we know it now. A life free of pain, sorrow, confusion and fear. We will no longer need faith, because we will see God and be in the very presence of God. We will be in an atmosphere of complete perfection, and somehow, by the power of His Sprit we will be perfected too. That is our hope and stay through every time of sifting. The biographies of great heroes of faith should encourage us. Those imprisoned and tortured for their faith tell of God’s present presence with them during their times of immense suffering. They knew the joy that Paul and Silas knew in the Philippian jail. Though they were beaten and imprisoned unjustly they knew a deep-seated joy in the midst of their pain and could not help but burst into songs of praise and worship. That is the anchor for our soul. We have a hope that is steadfast and certain.
God’s purpose in saving us is to purify us and make us like Jesus. This is a very uncomfortable and at times painful process. But it is a loving process. It is the best of surgeons who removes every trace of disease, and it is the perfect love of our Father in Heaven who wants to cleanse us from the most hidden of sins, the most unhelpful of habits and the ways of this world.
In times of sifting, don’t give in to doubt or fear. God has not abandoned you. He is not punishing you. He is in the process perfecting you. You will not fall to the ground. He will keep you. You will not be lost.
