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When

by Shannon Heiden  
12/23/2008 / Devotionals

"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

As we read the above scripture we find a most important word, a word that speaks of a time to come, not yet fulfilled but on it's way, and that is the word "when."

Jesus was speaking to His disciple, His earthly companion, His chosen friend. It was not uncommon for Jesus to publicly praise Peter and just as common for Jesus to correct him as well. Peter was a man full of zeal and enthusiasm. Peter left everything he knew to follow Jesus. Peter was the first disciple to reconize Christ as the Son of the living God, Peter stepped out of the boat when no one else did and Peter in his fleshly carnal way tried to defend his Lord in the garden.

Peter truly loved Jesus and Jesus knew it but Jesus also knew something about Peter that Peter didn't quite know yet and that was Peter would fall flat on his face in the coming hour of adversity.

Jesus knew that Peters heart would fail and although that was a painful place Peter had to come to it was also a critical turning point in Peters life.

Sometimes in our lives we are like Peter, full of zeal and enthusiasm as we leap on the mountaintops, proclaiming the name of Jesus, we cast out demons, we heal the sick, we love our brothers and then in the next chapter of our life, as soon as the page turns we find ourselves in the midst of adversity, blindsided by fear and the faith we so boldly proclaimed has turned into a distant faint whisper, or even just a mere thought that never escapes our lips.

How many times have we fallen flat on our face when we see that the Lord has turned to us- knowing and seeing what was in our heart, all the while we are crushed beneath the weight of just being awakened by the realization of our own enemy lying within?

But even though Peter had to come face to face with what exactly he was made of, even though we too have to come face to face with what truly lies within our own heart, we have a word from the Lord himself to get us through.

When...

Jesus said " Simon, Simon Satan has asked to sift you as wheat, But I have prayed for you Simon that your faith will not fail and when you turn back you may strengthen your brothers."

And when you turn back...

Look at what the Lord is saying here, when you turn back, not if you turn back but when you turn back. That means that Peter, a true disciple handpicked by God was going the wrong way, his faith and his heart weren't lining up but Jesus himself told Peter and is also telling you and I that although Satan has desired to sift us, to separate us, to utterly discombobulate us and crush us that Christ himself has prayed for us that the faith already within us would not fail and when we turn back we can then go and strengthen our brothers.

Have we stopped to consider that during those times in our life when our strength is gone, when we have missed the mark, when the enemy within us has rose up and dominated us, have we stopped to realize that it's not so much about us as it is our brothers?

Think about it, Peter was going to be the first leader of the church, God chose this man who wasn't educated, unlearned, very instinctive, impulsive, even brash at times, this was Gods choice to be the first pastor of His church and even though Peter loved the Lord the Lord knew Peter would have to under go a process to prove what was in his heart. God already knew it but the time and hour came for Peter to know it.

And there is also an hour for us to know it as well.

But when we have turned back, when we have been confronted with the truth- that in us dwells no good thing, in us and all our mountaintop experiences there is a valley, in us there is a place that we will have the Lord turn to us as we awaken to the enemy within.

And because our Lord loves us too much He only reveals that place so He can heal it, so that when we turn back we can then go and strengthen our brothers.

Shannon Heiden
[email protected]
changingonelifereachingmany.typepad.com

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