Sifted and Refined

My oldest participates in Bible quizzing through our church, and the first portion of Scripture they had to study this year was Job. I have to be honest, when I saw that I was like uuuummmm….

Since she is quite dedicated to obliterating any and all competition, she runs the audio files nonstop in the house. As the different voices spoke in character, God began to open my mind and eyes to understand and see Job’s story in a whole new way. Before I continue, I want to give credit to our children’s and youth pastor who preached an amazing message on this portion of Scripture which inspired this post.

In the Biblical account, Satan approaches God and complains that God has set a hedge of protection around Job and has blessed everything he does. He then accuses Job of only appearing to love and be devoted to God because of the things God has done for him. Satan judged Job based upon the favor God bestowed upon him and the external evidence, or impact, of Job’s faith on his life choices. Satan couldn’t see Job’s heart and didn’t know the inner workings of his mind. But God did. Satan, the accuser and adversary, points the finger at Job and asks for permission to take away the blessings of God. Surely this would show God who Job really was (Job 1:1-12).

In her message, our pastor also pointed out another biblical example of Satan making a similar request, this time in the New Testament. Jesus tells Peter in Luke 22:31 that “Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat” (KJV). And Jesus’s response? He prayed for Peter to stand in faith! That’s when God cracked this thing wide open in my head.

Why would Satan ask for Peter? Peter was a fisherman without a fancy education. Satan didn’t ask for Peter because of who he was before Jesus. He didn’t even ask for Peter because of who he was in that moment. It wasn’t long after this conversation that we see Peter denying Jesus three times. He asked for Peter because he saw something in him.

He saw revelation dropping, faith arising, and a heart full of fire and passion. I think it terrified him. I think he knew that if he could get Peter now, sift him, shake him, and strain him, he had a chance to take him out and derail his potential in God’s kingdom. There are certainly limitations to Satan’s knowledge, but I think he saw enough in Peter that he knew it was a chance he couldn’t afford to miss. And he was right.

Peter was pivotal in the early church. He helped establish the earliest church after Pentecost, leading thousands of fellow Jews to faith in Jesus. And that was just day one. Acts continues to record the incredible displays of God’s power, unleashed through Peter’s passionate faith, including miraculous healings that occurred just because his shadow happened to touch someone. His shadow! Satan had a hunch that he needed to take him out before he did too much damage to the darkness, that’s why he wanted to take him out. I think it was the same with Job.

Satan didn’t know Job like God did, but he saw the evidence of his faith. And it scared him. He wanted to take him out. But Job’s faith stayed strong, enduring trial after trial all alone. As our pastor pointed out, for almost the entire book of Job, God says NOTHING to him while his friends and wife say plenty. And, unfortunately, their attempts at fixing Job’s catastrophic life circumstances just didn’t line up. And Job knew it. So rather than being a source of comfort, strength, and support, it was actually another form of attack—just perhaps a bit stickier than the other attacks.

But Job continued to persevere. He didn’t understand. Who could? But he knew above all else, he was going to stand firm in his faith in God. And what happened? As my pastor pointed out, God released a spirit-shocking, mind-blowing revelation of Who He is. Job never got his why, but when he experienced the Who, he no longer needed the why. Job didn’t demand the why either, and God blessed him beyond what he had been blessed before.

The takeaway challenge for today: Stop asking, “Why God?” Trade the “why” question for a “who.” We can seek deeper revelations of His heart, ask Him to help us see and feel for others the way He does. We can surrender at His feet so Who He is can shape and mold us to be more like Him. No more why’s, only a Who.

Musser, K. “An Invitation to Trust God’s Wisdom.” Good Shepherd Community Church. 16 January 2022, Reamstown, PA. Sermon