These last several weeks the Lord has really captivated my heart through the image of the threshing floor. As most of you know the first several years of Noah and my marriage have not been easy. I feel that we have been put through the fire and often selfishly feel we have walked this road too many times. I will not get into the specific circumstances of which have captivated our hearts, minds, and beings but trust me when I say that I wish these circumstances on no other person.
At Mathias’ Lot we have been studying Luke since Noah and I have moved here. A few weeks ago, Marc, the pastor, was speaking on Luke 22:31-38… I would encourage you to read it for yourself but for the sake of keeping the flow I am going to focus on the first 2 verses of this passage.
31 Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat 32 But I have pleaded in prayer for you Simon that your faith would not fail.
Chew on that for a moment. When we were reading this passage in the service a couple Wednesday nights ago it hit me square in the stomach. My mind was immediately taken back to the night that Noah and I were engaged. If you have not heard the full story of the man prophesying over us ask me about it and I would love to fill you in… but for the sake of staying on point I will talk about a very specific point of that night.
As my mind was taken back to the beach in Ft Lauderdale FL around midnight with sand in my toes and the waves crashing behind me I vividly remember this man who told my future husband and me that anything that Satan would try to bring against us would have to go through God and He would have to allow it. I couldn’t fathom what that meant that night, I had no idea what the future had in store.
So back to the passage… two things stood out to me 1. Satan had to ask God permission and 2. Satan asked to sift him like wheat. Here became my obsession … what does it mean to be sifted like wheat? What is a threshing floor?
To give a very simple description a threshing floor is a place away from the town often on a high hill exposed to the wind so it can aid the workers. It is here where the wheat and the chaff are separated. The chaff, which is useless, blows away in the wind because of how light it is. The grain is heavier so it falls to the ground and is gathered for the harvest. I cannot tell you how many times God has brought this image to me in the midst of feeling "threshed" in order to remind me that He is the one who does the sorting in my life.
This brings me to one of my favorite passages in scripture 1 Ch. 21:18-28 (Please Read)
It is in this passage that King David goes to Ornan to buy a threshing floor from him, to build an alter to worship the Lord. When he gets there Ornan offers it to him free of charge. David insists on paying full price for the threshing floor and he says in verse 24 I will not offer a burnt offering to the Lord that cost me nothing. David grasps what true worship looks like, he grasps that true worship is a sacrifice of our lives, our wants, and selfish desires for His.
So what does David do next? He pays Ornan 600 pieces of Gold for the threshing floor then goes and builds an alter to worship the Lord.
How beautiful is that picture? The question then is...
How can I truly worship the Lord with my life and my whole heart if it has cost me nothing? Also when we do feel the sifting shouldn't we consider it a joyful experience?
I so often find myself crying out to the Lord begging Him to tell me specifically what my offering should be, when He tells me I have to then ask for the strength to be faithful and give it away. This is ultimately my hearts deepest desire.
Now my prayer is to be found faithful.
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