Ever been sifted?

Hi, Everyone. Today, I thought of a very special time in my life that I'd like to share with you. It happened about 32 years ago. I had left my first husband who was very abusive to me. Our daughter was a little baby, and my parents had moved us into a small trailer. I was all right during the day, because I was busy with the baby, but after she went down for the night, it was very difficult for me. I fought depression, because life just wasn't supposed to be this way. It would take me so long to get to sleep at night, and after I'd fall asleep, I'd have a nightmare--the same one. In my dream, my husband came to the trailer, set it on fire, rescued the baby, and left me to die. Every night, I'd wake up at that moment, drenched in sweat, and gasping for breath. After weeks of this, I was exhausted. Finally, one night, I got up, checked on the baby, and went to the living room. I had no living room furniture, so I sat on the carpeted floor and began to pray. I remember praying, "Lord, I cannot go on like this. Please help me. Help me not to have that nightmare anymore. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. I don't know, but I ask You to speak to me through Your Word. Father, I don't even know where to look, so I'm going to just open my Bible and point. I'm asking You to honor that, and give me something that I can cling to. I ask this in the Name of Jesus. Amen." I opened my Bible and pointed to two verses that I'd never read before, Luke 22:31-32. This is what I read: "Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not, and when you are delivered, strengthen the brethren." The Lord wrapped a blanket of comfort around me that very moment. Yes, I felt I had been sifted over and over again, and He knew it. I didn't know that Jesus was praying for me all along, but I felt it at that moment, and I've never forgotten it since. He was praying for me, that through everything I'd gone through in the past, I would hold on to my faith. I saw, too, that Jesus said "when you are delivered..."--when, not if. That was a promise to me, a promise of deliverance. I pray that this is a moment when I can fulfill my part of giving back, to "strengthen the brethren." Be encouraged today, for the Lord knows all about whatever you're going through. By the way, I never had that nightmare again. Blessings, Mary

Thanks Mary, Your testimony of the Lord's faithfulness was a blessing to me tonight. Yes, I have been sifted. It was after my husband left me and I moved into my apartment and was trying to rebuild my life as a single woman. All my kids did the empty nest routine, except my youngest who came home from college addicted to heroin. I was trying to stay sober after relapsing in my AA program, and I was feeling so abandoned and alone, I would just sit on my couch and cry in the evenings. The Lord gave me two verses. One is Joshua 1:5: "I will never leave you nor forsake you." The other is Jeremiah 29:11: "I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you, not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future." I used to suffer terrible panic attacks and abandonment fears. These were the result of some childhood traumas. After I got these verses, I copied them, printed them out, made them my screen saver on my computer, pasted them all over my apartment. I would then sit at night and cry and pray and tell the Lord, "YOU said you would never leave me, I am holding you to that." "YOU said, you have good plans for me. I am counting on you, and trusting you for that." Over and over again, I would remind the Lord of HIS promises to me, and He was faithful to me indeed. Since my divorce, I have been to graduate school and earned a Masters in Social Work. In addition to being a teacher, I now work part time in a psychiatric hospital, which is part of my career change/goal. Since my divorce, I had the WLS and lost 100 pounds so far. Since the divorce, I have been able to get rid of my abandonment fears and a lot of my anxiety/panic attacks. So, God did have some plans for me that were for good. I am now looking forward to what else the Lord has in store for me. Hugs, Trish

Oh, Trish, I am full of thanksgiving to God for how He has brought you through. It sounds like we have some shared experiences. I love how God is so faithful to comfort and give His Word. I, too, "remind" God of His Word, when I pray. I believe that He loves when we do that. God cannot and will not go against His Word, so when we pray God's Word, we are assured of two things: 1) We are praying His Will, and 2) The answer is assured, although the timing may not be what we might want. Thank you for sharing this part of your story. I, too, suffered from panic attacks. While I have opportunities to feel anxious, I have learned to work through them in the power of the Lord, and I cannot remember the last full-blown panic attack I had. I give Him all the glory. Blessings, Mary