THE "SIFTING" BEFORE THE "SHIFTING"
(Luke 22:31,32-NLT) "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. (Matt. 16:18) "And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
SIFTING: To put (flour, corn for example) through a sieve or other straining device in order to separate the fine from the coarse particles.To distinguish, examine and sort carefully, To pass through or make a careful examination
SHIFTING: To exchange, alter, move or transfer from one place or position to another.
As a child growing up, I used to observe my mom and grandmother cooking and watched as they prepared to make biscuits for our breakfast or meals. They'd take out the flour and other ingredients, cooking utensils and among them, the sifter. I thought it was a neat utensil and often asked to sift the flour because it seemed like a toy to me. I wondered why it was necessary to sift the flour and after doing it a few times, I discovered the reason. I noticed that when I placed the flour in the sifter, it was clumpy and the sifter made it smoother and lighter. I also noticed that once all the flour had sifted through, there were particles and sometimes insects left in the sifter that didn't pass through. Most likely they had hid in the flour during packing and storing. The sifter caused these foreign objects to separate from the actual flour before shifting the flour to be used for baking.
The wired-type screen on the sifter allows, with a good shake or turn of the handle, small particles to pass through. Any large objects would not pass through. Oftentimes, we may wonder why we have to go through seasons of suffering, trials, demotions before promotions, persecutions, scars before the stars on our way to our "Greater". This is called our "sifting" process. Once we've gone through this process, then we are ready for the "Shifting" process. Undoubtedly, many of us would love to skip the "sifting" process and jump directly into the "shifting" process. As Jesus walked with his disciples, he was gradually sifting them in a sense by teaching them, correcting them and preparing them for their shifting that they would experience after he had gone back to his Father.
Sifting has to take place in order to be transferred or be moved to the next level. Before my mom and grandmother could successfully produce those buttery, tasty and light biscuits, the flour (the main ingredient) had to go through the sifting process. After they sifted the flour, the dough that was made was ready to be shifted to the oven for baking. Let us not avoid from going through the "Sifting" because this is where anything that shouldn't be in your life will be left out so the things necessary to shift us will pass through for the making process. Let us allow the hand of God to be placed on the handle of the sifter. As this sifting process is being done, let us be willing to allow whatever is not right in us to be shaken up so anything unfit won't pass through and keep us from our shifting. Are you ready for the SIFTING and the SHIFTING?
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