Would you freak out if you knew that Satan had been asking about you by name? It happened to the apostle Peter. Just before Jesus' betrayal. He told Peter (also called "Simon), "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat" (Luke 22:31).

Peter was in the crosshairs of Satan's fiery darts. Jesus didn't say that He would prevent the coming trial (though He could have). He didn't even promise that Peter would pass the trial with flying colors. In fact, He was explicit about Peter's upcoming failure, "I tell you, Peter, before the cock crows today, you will deny three times that you know me" (Luke 22:34). The news probably ruined Peter's day.

But there was some good news. Jesus reassured him, "But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:32)."

We live in the real world. Even the most sincere Christian occasionally blows it. But what do we do when we let God down? 

When we fail God by sinning, Satan wants us to run away never to be seen again. But God wants us to run to Him so that we can better serve our Christian brothers and sisters.

Wheat Sifting 101

If you're like me, you don't live on a farm that uses technology that's 2,000 years old. But many of us have heard sermons in church about wheat sifting.

In primitive farming, after harvesting the wheat you'd have to separate the useable wheat from the outer husk -- the chaff. You'd grab a big basket of wheat and chaff and toss it into the air. Since the wheat was heavy, it would fall back into the basket. The chaff was light and would blow away in the wind -- never to be seen again. The end result was a basket full of usable wheat. Sifting wheat was a process of separating the good from the bad.

It should go without saying that Satan -- a.k.a. the Accuser -- didn't have Peter's best interest at heart. Satan wanted to sift Peter like wheat because he was confident that when Peter was put to the test he'd be like the chaff. Peter would see his own failure and then -- WHISK -- disappear. After denying the Messiah, Peter should have been too ashamed to continue on in the ministry. He should have just cut his losses and returned to fishing. The devil would have liked that.

Rats! Foiled Again

But things didn't turn out like Satan planned. Yes, Peter did see his own failure. He discovered he wasn't as strong as he thought when he said to Jesus, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death" (Luke 22:33). But Peter's failure broke him of his own self-reliance. Note: Jesus didn't pray that Peter's strength would not fail; He prayed that his faith would not fail. That faith was focused upon God's strength, mercy and forgiveness. And Peter, trusting in God, came back to Him -- a few notches humbler.

I bet all the other disciples saw a softening in Peter's leadership style after that point. Peter could no longer exhort his brethren by jumping up and yelling, "You slackers! Why did you abandon Jesus? If you had just been a little more on fire for the Lord this wouldn't have happened." 

Instead, he'd have to say something like, "I blew it -- big time. But you know what? It's not about me, it's about His faithfulness and His mercy and His forgiveness. We are weak but He is strong."

If any chaff had blown away, it might have been Peter's self-righteousness.

So do you feel like you've blown it? Feel like there's no place for you to serve God anymore? Don't give Satan reason to gloat. He wants you out of the game. God wants you in. The sifting that Satan intended to scatter you with can be used by God to get rid of some of the chaff in your heart. Confess your sin to God and trust in His mercy and forgiveness. Then turn and encourage others by telling them of God's goodness shown to you.