Sabbath Thought – Sifting

Sift – Middle English from the Old English siftan: akin to the Old English sife (or sieve).  1a: to put through a sieve <sift flour>.  1b: to separate out by or as if by putting through a sieve.  2: to go through especially to sort out what is useful or valuable <sifted the evidence>.

We live in difficult times, but I suspect that if we consider being a called-out member of the family of God there have never been times that were not difficult.  God has always been sifting His people out of this world (Amos 9:9), but Satan has also been trying to sift us out of the family of God as Christ told Peter (Luke 22:31).  While both scriptures speak of sifting, the goals are different.  We can understand Satan not wanting us to be part of God’s family, but why would God be sifting His people as well?  We find part of the answer in Jeremiah 17:10, “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.”  The word “test” in that verse has the same meaning as “sift” in English – God is sifting our hearts (our thoughts, our attitudes, our reactions, etc.) for the purpose of determining our fruit.  The difference in the siftings is that Satan seeks to remove us, while God seeks to refine us.

My opinion is that we are much closer to the end-time events than we might think.  The world economy is teetering on the brink of disaster.  The weak U.S. position internationally is inviting other nations to act in opposition to the safety of the world.  Modern intellectual leanings are moving further and further away from Godly positions and values.  We know that God ultimately desires for all of mankind to be in His family (Hebrews 2:10), but in order for Him to give us eternal life He needs to know our fruit. A plant’s fruit is not immediately known.  As the fruit grows, we begin to see what type of harvest could be possible, but it is not until the end of the growing season that the quality and quantity of the harvest is known.  For each of us individually, God can see where we are regarding our spiritual fruit and the potential we have – but it is not until the final harvest that the quality and quantity of our fruit will be revealed.  This is the lesson of the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30). God is not just passively watching and waiting for our fruit to develop, He is actively working with us to develop worthy fruit.  He is sifting His people to remove what would damage or destroy the potential harvest.

Consider this example: the five foolish virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) knew Christ was returning, they knew where they needed to be, they knew what they needed, and they even knew the general time frame of His return – but in spite of knowing those things they had not grown in the use of God’s Holy Spirit.  God is sifting His people to refine us.  This sifting and refining will make us stronger spiritually and better equipped to reflect His nature so that we will be in His Kingdom and family.  Our role is to remain steadfast (2 Peter 3:14, 17) and growing in God’s grace and knowledge (v. 18).

This sifting is for a short time (2 Corinthians 4:7) and like a valuable harvest after a long growing season, worth the effort.

I wish you a rewarding Sabbath,

Dan Dowd

7 December, 2024